The Ghost You Know
by KillerxXxQueen
Summary: Four years after Sai's disappearance, Hikaru stumbles across another haunted artifact. Promises are made, but can they be kept? Will Akira be able to accept all that his friend has been keeping from him?  slashes as I see fit; future Aki/Hika
1. Chapter 1

"Touya?" Hikaru looked at his rival pointedly over the goban. "You're playing terribly." Akira responded with a sharp slap of a black stone in the heart of white's territory. "Hey, Touya!"

"Shindo…your turn."

Hikaru parried the attempted invasion effortlessly, frown growing across his entire face. "What's with you, Touya? Where's your game today?"

"Shindo…" A powerful question was building behind those eyes. They weren't as pointed as Hikaru was used to seeing them. They weren't looking at the goban or glaring at him, sizing him up…they were too soft.

Hesitant.

"Do you…?" Akira's hand rose to his face, trying to figure out his own question. Hikaru waited a few seconds before sighing, swiping at the unfinished game and collecting his stones, dropping them in the goke.

"Shindo! What—?"

"Don't even think about playing like that against Ogata 10-dan next week. Where the hell are you right now? Because this is _not_Touya Akira." Hikaru pouted a bit as he gestured towards the goban.

"Sorry, Shindo. I'm…distracted today." He folded his hands in his lap.

"I'll say," Hikaru scoffed. "What's eating you this time? Too much time with Kuwabara-sensei?"

"Do...do you believe in ghosts?" Akira asked quietly, eyes fixed on his knees.

Hikaru blanched and rose quickly, almost knocking over his chair. "Of course not! That's ridiculous! What are you even talking about, Touya?" He was shouting. Startled, Akira snapped his gaze up to Hikaru's reddening face.

"…Shindo?" Mint eyes blinked slowly and Hikaru flushed deeper, sitting down almost as hastily as he'd stood up.

"Dammit, just never mind. What were you saying?"

Still rather flustered by his rival's outburst, Akira couldn't think of an appropriate way to bring up the topic. "My father…really wants to play…" he fidgeted in his chair, staring at his hands again, "…Sai. At least one more time."

"…_that_ again…" Hikaru sighed. Akira had the grace to wince. "_That_ is impossible." That shocked Akira into standing, leaning over the goban.

"What do you—" Akira bit off his inquiry at the desolate look on Hikaru's face. There was no way that Hikaru would talk to him about Sai just yet. No matter how many theories Akira tried to bounce off the other pro, Hikaru wouldn't entertain discussion about the subject.

"I've told you, Touya. Sai is gone." And he had told him. Just once, but quite decisively.

"Shindo, I've seen Sai." Hikaru looked up disbelievingly. "In your Go. Sai is definitely there." The statement nearly made Hikaru burst out laughing, but Touya was being serious.

"It's not the same thing. Not even close." His tone was borderline mocking. "You _still_don't understand."

"Then just tell me!" Akira persisted. "I have to find him! Shindo, my father—" Akira derailed, noticing the attention they were attracting. He straightened his clothes and sat down calmly. "Shindo, my father's health is failing. He's currently hospitalized in Yokohama."

"Eh?" Hikaru finally snapped back to himself.

"It's not too serious anymore, but he had another heart attack. It's being kept quiet. My father doesn't want a reaction like the last time he was taken ill. But he says he is gaining perspective. And Sai…he wanted at least to settle the score with him. To be honest, there are so many people that feel the same. Sai defeated many powerful players..."

"You really don't understand at all…" But Hikaru smiled at his rival. It was a sad, patronizing kind of smile. "All right. I will go and talk to Touya-sensei. But," he cautioned, seeing Akira's face light up, "I don't want you to come with me. And I can't make any promises about what will happen while I'm there. Sai is gone. I don't know what sensei was expecting, sending you like this."

Akira was affronted. "As if my father would do something so small. He did not send me, and I didn't need him to inform me that you were involved with Sai. Touya Koyo is not a man so ignoble that he would send a challenge by proxy." He let out a small sigh. "He will probably be furious with me for asking this of you at all. But if it is impossible after all…"

"I said it's impossible. I wouldn't lie about that."

'"_About that," eh?'_ Touya thought, trying not to crack a smile. Especially seeing how close Shindo was to actual anger. Sure they argued often enough, but Akira was not so insensitive to actually want to see his rival emotionally distressed. _'No, definitely not that. Last time was…'_ He crossed his arms and studied the other pro's face carefully. _'…the only other time I asked for Sai to play my father.'_

"Why 'ghosts'?" Hikaru asked after a good bit of staring on both of their parts.

"Eh?"

Hikaru sighed emphatically. "Ghosts! You asked me if I believed in ghosts, Touya. Geez, you really are something today!"

"It was…just a bit of apprehension on my part. I wondered about that quite a bit when my father collapsed. Would he still be playing Go even when…?" Akira shook his head. "Well, this is all a bit too serious for now. He will recover this time and perhaps live many more years."

"…It's okay to worry about your father, Touya," Hikaru said softly. "It's better to worry, rather. That way…" Akira's gaze was intent and piercing again. "No, you're right. This is far too serious talk. _Nigiri_, Akira. Let's play a real game this time."

Akira smiled in spite of himself, his worries.

His questions.

And this game, Akira was white.

* * *

><p>The train to Yokohama was tolerable. Hikaru replayed several games in his head to pass the time.<p>

'_Honinbou Shuusaku…_

…_Sai.'_

Before he looked up the hospital Akira had mentioned, Hikaru checked himself into a hotel and found a ramen shop nearby. But he could only distract himself for so long before he began getting impatient. He collected his visiting gift for the former Meijin and set out.

"Touya Koyo…" he murmured, entering the hospital calmly. Finding the correct suite wasn't difficult, thanks to detailed instructions from Akira. He knocked quietly on the door before stepping inside.

"Please excuse me, Touya-sensei," he said, bowing slightly. He set the gift on the floor, groaning at its weight as he placed it gingerly at the foot of the bed.

"Shindo-kun!" Touya Akiko, Akira's mother, was there. Of course she was there. Hikaru felt stupid for expecting to find the retired pro alone.

"Shindo?" Touya-sensei was sitting up in the hospital bed and reading Go Weekly. "What a surprise! Did Akira tell you I was here?"

"Ah…yeah. Sorry to just drop in on you like this, but I thought I could maybe talk to you a bit…?"

"Akiko? Would you mind?" Touya Koyo asked his wife softly.

"Just make sure you're resting. Thank you for taking the trouble of coming, Shindo-kun," she said, kind smile on her face as she took her leave.

"So…what did Akira say, Shindo-kun?"

Hikaru sat on the couch beside the bed, remembering the last time he had visited Touya-Meijin in a hospital, when he had failed to bring a gift for the ex-pro. He hung his head slightly, looking at the bright white floor.

"Touya…er, Akira told me about what happened. He said that you'd gained a new…perspective, sensei. But truthfully, I'm a bit confused as to what that means…"

"I want another match with Sai," the ex-pro got straight to the point. "Doubtless this is why Akira bid you to come. There is much that I could discuss with a master like Sai."

Hikaru bit his lip and tried to think out exactly what would be best for the former Meijin to hear. "That's…rather, it's just…" He wilted visibly. _"Completely impossible."_ After coming so far, he still couldn't say it. And so a great silence grew.

"…Sai," The old man sighed suddenly, "is not around anymore, is he?"

The question hung in the air for a short while.

"Sai…is dead," Hikaru almost whispered, balling his hands into trembling fists. "He has been for years."

"I see." Touya-sensei was quiet again. "Did you tell Akira this?"

"No. Akira wouldn't believe me if I did. I can still barely believe it myself." He looked up to smile hollowly at his rival's father.

'_For now, I can be content with people remembering him, recognizing him, proving to me that he ever existed at all…'_

"Can you tell me now…who was Sai?"

Touya-sensei chose that moment to turn his gaze to the boy's face and the sudden eye contact disturbed Hikaru. He knew that the former Meijin could see all of the emotions evoked just by mentioning Sai in that instant and wrenched his gaze away.

"I'll tell you what I can. That is why I am here today: because Sai respected you above all others, Touya-sensei." Hikaru took a deep breath to steady himself and the old man before him settled in to listen comfortably. "I met Sai for the first time when I was twelve."

Touya-sensei picked up on the significance of that at once. The point at which it all began…

"He taught me to play Go, but more than that, I acted as a vessel by which his Go could be played. That is how I beat your son, just a few days after meeting Sai. And that is why Touya went to such lengths to learn more about me and my Go. I couldn't even hold stones properly at that point. And when I faced you for the first time…" Hikaru trailed off, remembering the day absently, recalling the fear he had felt sitting before the Meijin.

"That was Sai…?" From the look on his face, Hikaru knew that the man was replaying those few moves made on their first encounter.

"Yes. And when I sat before you again…"

"Sai." He exhaled slowly. "Now I understand much better. And somehow, it still isn't…just who _is_ Sai? Is he you, really? Or just some part?"

"You ask this, but there is no simple reply. I can say that every time I have stood before you, Sai stood before you as well."

"But not now."

"No. Sai is gone forever, I think. I haven't heard anything from him in about four years."

"When did you last hear from him?"

Hikaru smiled, eyes completely blank. "We were playing Go. One instant he was sitting across from me, and the next…" He trailed off, swallowing tears that were beginning to form. "I searched for him everywhere, but he was gone."

"Spirited away."

Hikaru had no response to that.

"Touya-sensei…Are you familiar with the name Fujiwara-no-Sai?" It was a longshot at best. There was no written record of anyone by that name.

"No. Is that Sai's full name?"

"It is."

"I am unfamiliar with this person. Have I ever met him?"

Another blank smile.

"Touya-sensei…do you believe in ghosts?"

"Shindo-kun…?" Hikaru had risen and retrieved the heavy box from where it sat and placed it before the ex-pro on his bed. The man regarded it severely before opening it. "Oh? A goban?" He pulled it gently from its packaging.

"It's special." Hikaru was almost whispering again as he placed the box back on the ground. "It once belonged to Honinbou Shuusaku." The words shocked the ailing man so profoundly. Already, his fingers were tracing the grid on top, exploring every nick and crevice in the wood.

"I cannot accept this gift, Shindo-kun. What were you thinking in bringing it to me? It is a treasure."

"I've already gotten everything I can from this goban. I can't stand looking at it anymore. I know that you can keep it safe and when—" Hikaru shook the tremors out of his voice. "When you can no longer use it, pass it down to your son. When that day comes, I will explain all of this to him as I have to you."

Touya Koyo's hands shook where they rest on the face of the goban. "I don't understand how this is related."

"Fujiwara-no-Sai died over a thousand years ago," Hikaru explained gently. He could feel Touya-sensei's shock far more than he saw it. "His spirit reappeared from this goban when it became the property of Honinbou Shuusaku, and again when Sai appeared to me after I found the board in my grandfather's attic."

Hikaru felt—really _felt—_that the once great Touya Meijin would understand if he explained this way because only Touya Koyo could have defeated Sai in an even match. Touya Koyo truly knew Sai's strength.

"The difference between Shuusaku and me is that he let Sai dictate all of his matches. Honinbou Shuusaku never played Go from the moment he met Sai. I only let Sai play in the beginning, and rarely after that because I selfishly wanted to build my own Go without calling too much attention to myself. What I'm saying is…Sai _is_ Honinbou Shuusaku, Touya-sensei."

Having finished, Hikaru sat back down, watching the former Meijin absorb the information. After nearly two minutes, Touya-sensei crumbled. Soft, quiet tears made their way down his grizzled face.

"I see now. Ghosts…but why tell me? Why tell anyone at all?"

"On Children's Day about four years ago, Sai vanished from this world for good and I stopped playing Go. I thought that if it was a matter of will, then Sai should just take my body and play Go until he could finally play the Divine Move." Hikaru put more challenge into his tone. "He thought that together, you and he would play the Hand of God. But then…"

Hikaru froze, partly due to the instability he was encountering in his voice and the stunned look on Touya-sensei's face. Part pride, part hope, and part heart-wrenching devastation; the man knew just what he—and Sai—had been waiting for, for such a long time.

"But Touya Akira…" Touya Koyo's attention flashed back to Hikaru. "Akira saw Sai's presence within _my_ Go. He only played three full games with Sai, but…" Hikaru smiled, "he never once looked away from Sai. And even now, I am erasing that image of Sai's back with a Go that, together with his, will achieve Sai's wish one day. I want to link Sai's dream to this millennium to the next millennium. In this way—" Hikaru bit off his sentence because Touya-sensei was looking at him, tears still wet on his face, positively beaming. It reminded him of—

"Truly, Sai and I have done it. As Sai taught you to play, I have taught Akira to play. And you two could not have met by coincidence. You were both chosen and brought together for exactly this purpose. Sai…Fujiwara-no-Sai…" Touya Koyo stroked the goban now as if it was the back of a child.

"Well then—"

"Shindo-kun?" Hikaru froze in his attempt to rise and leave. "Please, have a match with me tomorrow. I have never played a game with you, have I?" The smile, though much dimmer now, was still alive on his face.

"I'd be honored, sensei. I'll bring stones over before lunch and we can play after we eat."

* * *

><p>Hikaru stared down at the game that was unfolding. His opponent was only a 6-dan, but he'd managed to get him so far-flung across the bottom and the center wasn't holding up at all.<p>

'_If I can take the left back before he solidifies the center, I can win for sure.'_ He exhaled slowly, snapping his fan back shut decisively. _'All right! Here…kikashi!'_

As he slapped his timer, he became aware of a familiar pair of eyes watching him, or rather, his match. He snapped his fan open and shut before returning a glare to those aqua mint eyes, but they were too intent on the gameplay. Hikaru could almost feel him scoffing at his _kikashi_ and thinking of at least six ways to effectively counter it.

'_No, only five,' _Hikaru amended, returning his gaze to the goban. But his current opponent wouldn't see all of them and didn't have the guts to attempt any but the obvious route, the beginnings of an intricate trap that the young 4-dan was still concocting.

But Akira was sure to give him hell about it after the match.

Much to his surprise, Touya actually sat down to watch the match conclude with Hikaru pulling out a resignation after successfully reconnecting the left side.

"What the hell were you thinking about, Shindo?" Touya demanded after his opponent had left. The game sat out for Touya to pull apart and fuss over. "Why would you invade at the top at that time? What a reckless diversion. If you had been playing me, you would have resigned there and you know it. Such sloppy play!"

"Touya, enough. You were not my opponent, so I played a lazy game to at least get some enjoyment from the end. Yoshida 6-dan allowed me way too much freedom, I grant you, but he underestimated me from the beginning. I'm starting to feel trapped in these tedious games."

'_The games I'm not playing against you.'_ He didn't need to say it at that point. He'd already inflated Touya's ego enough for the day, and they hadn't even made it to their sparring session yet.

"Shindo…" Akira watched as Hikaru rose and walked over to record the match. The prodigy was almost disturbed by the lack of energy Shindo had been giving off since his return to Tokyo. Sure, he had lost to the former Meijin, but when they spoke on the phone, his father had assured him that he put up a nasty little struggle even if he had refused to actually show Akira the game.

"Geez, stop winning already!" he whined. "I'll never catch up. You're basically an 8-dan at this point!"

"You'll just have to start taking things more seriously, Shindo," Akira chided in good humor as the pair of them collected their bags and shoes.

"Yes, yes. Take good care of me, senpai," Hikaru teased back.

"Let's go play at my place," Touya volunteered, stepping into the elevator. "My parents won't be getting back until Saturday, so we can practice a lot for our upcoming matches."

"Oh yeah. You still have to play Ogata-sensei. Good luck with that," Hikaru groaned as he remembered, "And my next match is against Isumi. That guy…he's too strong now!"

"Oh? He and Waya are back from China now?" Touya inquired casually. Isumi had never been too big of a contender for Akira, but Hikaru always had trouble meeting his friend's challenge over the goban.

"Yeah. Their dan matches were all put on hold, but those two," Hikaru swallowed ominously, "are seriously scary now."

"Hmph. Don't admit defeat until it is breathing down your neck, Shindo. You often make this mistake against me as well."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Touya! I'll be even stronger tomorrow and even right now, I can beat you again today!"

"Don't be absurd," Akira scoffed back. "You haven't beaten me in weeks."

"Like I said! I'm stronger now than I was yesterday! I'll beat you every game starting now!"

* * *

><p>"Damn. 2.5 <em>moku<em>? Is that all?" Hikaru sighed, snapping his fan. "You out-read my _chuban_ before it even began. I messed up this part of _yose_…well, rather I waited too long and you—"

"Got impatient with you for screwing around in the top right! Shindo, if you knew I'd read through your _chuban_, why wouldn't you just concede and let us progress? This game shouldn't have even _made_ it to _yose!_ You're wasting so much time today! Why are you so laid-back? You're ruining my focus!"

Touya was fuming. Hikaru snapped his fan twice more before evaluating his _yose_ again.

"You're right. It was rather lazy play still. I wonder if that game earlier threw off my game…?"

"Quit idling!" Akira ordered, swiping the game into piles. "_Nigiri!_ I need you to pay attention this time!"

'_I found you,' _Hikaru mused, lying down. _'There's that look again.'_

"Not yet, Touya. I can't get my energy back just yet."

"And that's your own damn fault! Who told you to stay in Yokohama an extra day?"

"Oi, Touya! Calm down about that! Why should it matter where I was; I was off that day anyways."

"…I was, too," Touya's voice became quiet, but Hikaru could feel his rival seethe. "You didn't even call. You didn't even tell your mother that you left Tokyo."

"Eh? You spoke with my mother?"

Akira pouted, fury still pouring off of him. "Your cellphone was off. And when you didn't answer at your apartment, I called your house next. You're so irresponsible about that kind of thing."

"What can I say? I'm the master of running away." Hikaru yawned, rolling onto his side.

"You shouldn't be fleeing; you should be chasing after me." A steel entered Akira's voice. When Hikaru made a noncommittal noise, the 7-dan just sighed, sweeping the stones back into their appropriate goke and he started replaying an old match.

"You know…" Hikaru started, clutching his fan tightly in his hand.

_=chk=_

_=chk_=

=_chk_=

Akira didn't falter in his steady rhythm, placing the stones one by one. It was soothing. "The days are beginning to get longer. Soon…"

_=chk=_

"…the _sakura_ will bloom. And then…"

_=chk=_

_=chk=_

"…it will be summer. Very soon…"

=_chk_=

"Shindo, stop trying to be deep or sentimental or whatever and evaluate this game with me."

"Go…is it everything for you?"

=_**ch**_**—**_k_=

"Yes."

"Is that so…?" Hikaru sat up slowly. The stones had halted and Touya was looking straight at him. Those eyes…sizing him up…predicting his next move…searching for a weakness to exploit…

Hikaru could only meet those eyes for a brief instant before curiosity overwhelmed him. The goban…

"Shindo, what the hell is this game?"

Hikaru looked it over almost dismissively. "Why would you bring this up again? It was years ago."

"Answer me, Shindo! What the hell were you playing at?" Akira was so angry again. Why could he only make Akira angry?

"_Sai_ was the one to play that game." It was his match against Touya Meijin as a beginner-dan.

"Did Sai really think this little of my father?" Akira demanded. "The match I saw—"

"_Akira!"_ Hikaru shouted, catching his rival off-guard. "I was the one to put such a large handicap on Sai. With a reverse _moku_ already, Sai would have floored even Touya Meijin. And you know it, too, so don't even start with me on that. Besides, Touya-sensei got his rematch in the end, so it shouldn't matter anymore."

And just like that, Hikaru found himself exhausted all over again. He slumped forward, elbows on his knees.

"…Were you that afraid of being pursued?" Akira asked quietly. "Did I really…frighten you so much that you even wanted to hide your Go?"

"Dammit, Touya, I already said that Sai was playing those games. Not me."

Akira knew it was past time to back off, but with Hikaru so lazy, so forthcoming…how much more could he learn? For years, questions had burned in the back, front, and every crevice of his mind. Could it finally be the time to have them answered?

"So…multiple personalities?"

"Absurd."

"Hidden cameras? Earpieces?"

"Absolute bullshit."

"Telepathy?"

"Are you stupid or what?"

Touya clenched his teeth. Shindo Hikaru was the only person who would ever call him stupid. He glanced back down at the game.

"What was the handicap imposed on this game? I'd say it was maybe…"

"15 _moku_," Hikaru answered. "I told him to play as if he was 15 _moku_ behind."

"And it took 20 minutes for him to decide on a first move?"

"I wasn't planning on letting him play at all. He had to make up a completely fresh strategy as if he was that far behind. And he didn't tell me any of his strategy. Really…that kind of play is just unfair…"

"But it just looked to most others like a terrible game…" Akira deduced, "except to Kuwabara Honinbou and Ogata-sensei. But 15 _moku_…Did you really think that you had a chance of winning?"

"Would you listen to me? Sai played that game! I did not win or lose!" Hikaru swiped the stones on to the floor. "You're being ridiculous today, Touya."

"And you're being abnormal. Why are you acting so childish?"

Hikaru smiled to himself a little. "I had the best teacher in childishness." He rose and moved to lean in the doorway, enjoying the spring breeze from outside.

"Touya?"

"Shindo?" Akira was bitterly picking up the Go stones from the tatami, tossing each into the goke like a petulant child.

"Will you play Go with me when the _sakura_ bloom?"

"Of course, Shindo," was the reply with a sigh that meant _'you idiot.'_

"And will you play with me when it becomes summer again?"

"…Of course, Shindo."

"And on Children's Day…will you play with me in Innoshima?"

"…Eh?"

"No?" Hikaru frowned in Akira's direction, not looking quite at him.

"It's just rather…specific. Is there any—"

"May 5 was Shuusaku's birthday. I just wanted to go and show him that his Go is still very…alive."

'_Shuusaku again. What on Earth…?'_

"Only if I don't have a match. I'm not going to reschedule just for something like that."

A real smile from Hikaru then: all teeth and sincerity.

"And you, Shindo, will you play a game with me now or should I just throw you out?"

"Am I no good if I don't play Go, Touya?"

"No, you are decidedly not. But I will walk you to the station if you so desire." Akira looked at Hikaru's absent-minded smile once more and sighed fiercely. "In fact, I insist. I won't have you getting lost again and coming back to bother me in an hour or so."

"All right. Let's go, then."

* * *

><p><em>Don't worry, boys and girls. It will get slashier later on. GOD I CANNOT ESCAPE ANGST-SPASMS NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY! Ugh...<br>Disclaimer: this is a fanfiction site. So this is therefore fanfiction. I don't own shit. Science! _


	2. Chapter 2

"Akari?" Hikaru pressed gently from the left side inward. "Do you see what this move is leading up to now?"

_Shidougo_ with Akari was a gentle cushion for his dan matches, both the exhausting and the tedious.

"Hmmm…it isn't a direct assault on my shape, but rather…" Akari indicated a random island of white stones amidst her black formation. "This section is immediately weakened by the threat of those connecting from the top. I'm…very trapped now, aren't I?" She let out a frustrated groan. "Why didn't I see it before?"

"Don't worry too much about that; reading ahead is an important skill, but you haven't had much practice with that yet. Really, I'm trying to help you fend off trouble when it's right at your door. This isn't so much about out-reading me as it is defending your territory successfully."

"More life and death problems?" She was still upset with him. "Hikaru! I can handle more than that at this point! I'm second captain right now in my University's Go league!" She was pouting, and Hikaru couldn't help but laugh a little bit.

"I know. You still just play for fun though, so if you're not careful…" He trailed off and pointed to the space he was going to play next. Akari looked haughtily at it and then blanched considerably.

"…I resign." She hung her head, groaned, and stood up. "You're way too much. I don't feel like I'm improving at all; you're so far above me now…" She added a smile on the end. "So you better not lose to Akira-kun anymore."

"I get it, I get it." He started sweeping up the Go stones and returned her smile. "So don't lose to Mitani anymore."

Akari made a peace sign and smirked. "I beat him by 3 _moku_ the other day!"

"So don't say you're not getting any better!" Hikaru scolded. "Just who am I wasting time for every week?"

"Oh, don't say 'wasting'. You used to hate playing with anyone but Akira-kun, but now you're getting better at teaching games, right?"

"If only you had the focus of some of my other students…" Hikaru sighed. "I can't imagine you sitting in on one of my _real_ lectures."

"Well, seeing as how I'm never _invited_, I don't see how you can say anything!" She stuck out her tongue. "Even Akira-kun invited me to his junior study sessions."

"Yes, I'm second always to 'Akira-kun,'" Hikaru scoffed.

"Well…he's a much better teacher," Akari muttered, feeling very red in the face. She flopped down on Hikaru's bed as he made a somewhat adorable face of disgust.

"Just forget about next week's lesson, then," snapped Hikaru without meaning it. And Akari knew it.

"Grow up already, Hikaru. You'll never catch up to him if you keep behaving like that." Her tone was harsh, but Hikaru brushed it off as usual. They had gotten very used to such bickering.

"You still have to buy me ramen, you know."

"Hikaru! You're mom's cooking downstairs right now!"

"Yeah, you're right. I'll just put it on your tab then."

"You know, Yuki will start getting suspicious if I'm always buying you food."

Hikaru shrugged with a devious grin growing on his face. "Mitani's a big boy. He'll get over it."

"Hikaru!" Akari shouted at the same time that his mother opened the door.

"Dinner, you two," she said kindly. "Akari-chan, is oolong tea okay?"

"Of course, Shindou-san."

'_All smiles when Akari's here…' _Hikaru thought bitterly. "Me too, kaa-san," he said instead, placing the goban and the goke out of the way. As his mother withdrew, he asked, "Akari, can you ask Mitani to come too next time?"

Akari made a hesitant noise in her throat. "I can ask, but he really wouldn't want to come…"

"Please, at least ask for me. I haven't seen him in ages. And I would hate for him to get the wrong idea about what's going on here." He took a last look at the lonely goban as he followed Akari out the door without bothering to listen to her reply. 

* * *

><p>"<em>Onegaishimasu."<em> The Go salon was oddly empty for a Saturday evening, but all the remaining clients were so crowded around their game it was hard for either player to notice the surrounding area, but it all faded into a giant haze as Hikaru slapped the first stone down on the board.

Akira responded almost immediately, as if by instinct. A rough bout of speed Go ensued as neither pro could stand taking longer than the other in this, their first match in weeks. Touya had been away in Hokkaido for some kind of promotional tournament and Hikaru's play had stagnated considerably as a result.

After a few hands, Hikaru hesitated as he replayed the last dozen moves to puzzle out his opponent's strategy. He completely obliterated Akira's seemingly innocuous assault on the right. Touya growled and took the next three moves to salvage his formation. Hikaru seized the opportunity to stretch out and connect downwards.

"That's why you lost to Ogata 10-dan, by the way," Hikaru taunted without breaking stride. "You have to be a lot more intricate with that kind of sneak attack."

"Oh?" Akira snapped, threatening Hikaru's bottom formation in just four moves. Hikaru managed to reconnect, but ended up sacrificing almost a third of the territory. "And _that _is why you're still a 4-dan, Shindo."

"What? I know you've been coaching Ochi again, and I beat him by 6 _moku_. And it'll be by even more next time."

"You're being irrelevant." Akira jumped over the conflict at the top to instigate new trouble on the right.

Hikaru froze, rethinking his entire strategy again. He sent a cursory glance up to Touya's face. The fierce blaze in his rival's eyes sent a harsh chill into his ribcage, and Hikaru felt his breath catch when his green eyes locked with Touya's glare. Even after all of those years, the intensity was enough to paralyze him with doubt. He set his jaw and scowled back.

The crowd, anticipating a fight, thinned considerably though it didn't disappear.

A few more hands played out with Akira leading Hikaru in dizzying circles around the board, breaking his established rhythm at scattered intervals just to throw the other pro off. He had flipped the game completely around in a matter of minutes. Hikaru frowned, thumbing his fan and slapping it against his palm.

"What's wrong?" Touya goaded at his opponent's sudden halt. Shindo barely noticed the barb.

'_Such wild Go…I can barely keep up.' _Hikaru clenched his teeth around a grimace._ 'This must be punishment for insulting his match with Ogata-sensei.'_ He swallowed deeply, flipping his fan and taking a metaphoric step away from the board, weighing his options. The right was now very vulnerable, but not in immediate danger thanks to cracking Touya's foundation early on. The attack on the bottom needed to be resolved still, but he'd already lost enough territory down there without calling Touya's attention back to it. The center was still waiting for encroachment, but a direct play there would be an invitation for Touya to take the entire bottom right. Victory had to lie in the left. Hikaru started from the top right, playing what looked like an obvious block to Touya's attack. But had he taken too long to think of it…?

"Shindo, you're too obvious yourself. Where is your ingenuity today? Such a stupid attempt…" Akira connected the top to the right and started to trickle his stones to the middle.

"Gotcha…" Hikaru grinned after a few hands' play. Touya blanched as suddenly he was faced with a giant wedge in his formation in the top. A section that he had assumed was dead was now miraculously revived right at the base of his territory.

Akira bit his thumb as he considered his options. He placed a cursory stone to flank the base of the wedge, but they both knew it was already too late. As Akira focused on salvaging the top, fortifying the left, and battering at the right, Hikaru had reclaimed the bottom and forged to the center. It would be a close game. The onlookers made all kinds of noises that Touya grimaced at. If he lost…

"Half a _moku_. That's it, Touya," his rival murmured. They both slouched back in their chairs, expelling the accumulated tension from the match. Another victory for Touya Akira, but by such a slim margin…

They analyzed the game briefly as the other patrons congratulated Touya and sidled off, very accustomed to how passionately the pros could discuss their matches.

"You nearly had me there; it was a very good game," Touya complimented his rival, hand over his mouth as he leaned over the board. "I was too confident in my foundation on my lower half…"

"Still underestimating me, eh?" Shindo teased, indicating the instances that he had cracked his rival's structures. "You're still a bit distracted. But you had an amazing streak that took forever to break. It was very…uncharacteristic. How did I appear to hold up?"

"Your play wasn't bad, just a bit scattered," Akira commented, focusing on the bottom. "You followed my lead for a good bit of _chuban_, but a few of your responses seemed almost tame in regard to your usual play. Of course, you did manage to break up my game with this move, but it just wasn't aggressive enough to stop me."

"You were planning too much at the same time for me today. I spent too much time doing _shidougo_ yesterday…shit. I could've…" He muttered the last bit, walking through the game again. Akira heard anyway and shook his head.

"Shindo, you can't get too caught up in instruction. It is _not_ your strong suit and you always fall behind when you shift gears too quickly."

"Why do you think I'm practicing with you today? I've got my match with Isumi in four days…" Hikaru leaned back, slapping his knee with his fan. "He's going to destroy me again…"

Akira considered his friend closely for a moment. "What are you doing tomorrow?" he asked almost too casually.

"…Why?" What torture did Touya Akira have set aside for him?

"There's going to be a viewing at my mother's family's estate."

"Eh?"

"…'eh'? What do you mean 'eh'?" Akira's anger made his rival blink. "The _sakura_, you fool!"

It took Hikaru a moment, but then he brightened considerably.

"You mean it?" he asked excitedly. "When? When?"

Now it was Akira's turn to blink at the sudden excitement gushing from the other pro.

"Well, I was going to be leaving tonight, and I had thought that you could perhaps join me…"

"Sure thing, Touya," Hikaru agreed easily with a bright smile.

"Really?" Akira was taken aback. He hadn't expected Shindo to accept so easily to his last minute plans.

"Of course! I asked you first, didn't I?" He started getting really excited. "How long can I stay? What should I bring? What are you even supposed to wear to a formal viewing?" He trailed off, questions all forming a giant mumble, and Akira smiled faintly.

"Kimono, of course. Just pack one. I have obligations on Tuesday, so I'll have to return Monday evening. Bring whatever makes you comfortable. Just remember that you'll have to carry it with you on the train."

"Train?" Hikaru grinned fiendishly. "We'll be taking my car."

And suddenly Touya Akira realized just how frightening his rival could be.

* * *

><p>"You could have at least slowed down near that residential area, Shindo!" Akira scolded, getting his luggage out of the trunk.<p>

"It was one house, Touya, and I _did_ slow down a little."

"You almost mauled a pet dog."

"Well, why wasn't it on a leash?"

"Because you're expected to drive slowly!"

'_Just arrived and already bickering,'_ Hikaru thought blandly. _'How wonderful.'_ He couldn't even admit to himself how much he enjoyed arguing with his rival.

The estate wasn't very large, but it was nicely furnished. The landscaping out front was notoriously well-kept. As he and Touya took off their shoes, Hikaru noticed several wall scrolls that his grandfather would have envied in his collecting days.

"And this is your _mother's_ family home?" Hikaru asked his friend in awe.

"Yes," Akira replied, adding absentmindedly, "She and my father are sure to be about."

Hikaru wondered for a moment how he would greet the former Meijin after their previous encounter, but they'd parted civilly enough; he decided it wasn't an issue.

"Shindo?" Akira called. "We should change into our kimono now." Hikaru nodded, following after his rival to their room. They encountered only one futon when they got there and Hikaru turned to Akira questioningly.

"Was I expected?" he asked dryly.

Touya shook his head slightly. "No, but it won't be a problem. I'll tell the housekeeper to prepare an extra for you in here. Now, hurry and change. Traffic delayed us a bit, and I'm anxious to see my father again."

Hikaru cocked his head at his friend, not finding a connection.

"He's been recovering here in Nagoya to avoid any public attention. It's been advertised that he's on vacation," Akira explained, not even needing to see Hikaru to know that he was completely bewildered by the circumstances and hadn't even thought to ask until just then. "I haven't seen him since before you visited him." He removed his kimono from his suitcase as he spoke, laying it out to breathe before making sure Hikaru was doing the same. Hikaru, on the other hand, was completely lost in thought, hand frozen on the top of his suitcase. "Shindo?"

As if he had just woken up, Hikaru shook his head and whipped around to throw a sheepish grin at his friend. "Sorry, Touya. I guess the drive got to me. You should go and see your dad while I rest a bit."

"…Sure, Shindo." And suddenly, Akira realized why his rival had been so strange in the preceding months: his grandfather had died during the winter. There wasn't a sensible reason for the sudden death, it had just occurred out of nowhere, and Hikaru had been particularly devastated.

Akira opened a sliding door that let out to the porch and the courtyard. Benches and porch swings lined the way sporadically, and Hikaru caught on near-instantly, taking his leave to sit out and admire the rock garden and the newly blossomed _sakura_ trees. Akira stepped quickly into an adjoining room to don his kimono and then set off to find his father. He wasn't out the door before he heard—

"Touya," Hikaru called gently, "over here."

Akira poked his head out to see Hikaru put a finger over his lips and then point across the courtyard. There, Akira saw his parents standing together, admiring the garden together, his mother loosely gripping his father's hand in both of hers. They were smiling. Akira let out a relieved sigh that made him feel so much lighter. Hikaru beckoned for him to sit on the bench beside the pro, and Touya complied, suddenly content to watch his parents from across the way.

"It's really sweet," Hikaru murmured as if complimenting Akira for his parents' behavior. "So simple, but they're just…_happy_."

"Yes. It's…refreshing," Akira agreed decisively. "They only understand one another in places like this, where the rest of the world might as well not exist." The young pro allowed his posture to relax to mere moderate severity.

"That's…" Hikaru trailed off, blond bangs tumbling to cover his eyes.

"Shindo?" Akira turned towards his friend. He was slouched and looked terribly uncomfortable, but could he have possibly fallen asleep? "Hi—…Hikaru?" He scooted closer to Hikaru. A hand darted out and snatched the sleeve of Akira's kimono at the shoulder. "Hey, Shin—"

"Just for a little while," the boy asked, fingers trembling through the fabric to cut off Touya's protests. "I just need…a little while…" Hikaru sounded exhausted. _'Stay with me,'_ his voice said without making the words.

"…Mm…" Touya consented quietly, alternating between keeping his chin slightly down and stealing glances over at Hikaru's face. The other boy wasn't crying, but his hair effectively covered his expression and that hand wouldn't stop shaking. It worried Akira to his bones and he was so thankful that he'd decided to invite him.

Touya Kouyo, however, stayed over on the other side of the courtyard, smiling and laughing with his wife and seeming utterly carefree. Dusk approached quickly and Touya gently shook Hikaru's shoulder.

"Shindo? You need to get dressed now. I believe dinner will be soon."

Hikaru started, clutching at Akira's sleeve for a moment before realizing what he was doing. Then he blanched, saw Akira, and jumped up, turning exceptionally red.

"Sorry, Touya! I was dreaming…I think…" His embarrassment became confusion. "A daydream…maybe…? Or was I sleeping…?" His gaze drifted upwards. He couldn't concentrate. "Oh yeah!" He looked Touya directly in the eye suddenly, startling the other pro. "I need help putting on my kimono."

Touya's eyes were wide at the sudden request, but he burst out laughing just as suddenly, nodding when he was finally able. "I'll show you. It's not too complicated." He rose and Hikaru gave him that same sheepish smile, following him back inside. 

* * *

><p>Soon enough, Hikaru could get his <em>obi<em> tied by himself and Touya led him to the main dining room where Touya-sensei and Touya Akiko were already sitting, drinking tea with what Hikaru presumed were Touya's grandparents as well as scattered adult relatives that could have been related in any way. Hikaru saw many of Touya's softer features all over the room, but only one other set of eyes could even be compared to Touya Akira's: those of Touya Kouyo, and they were staring right at him.

"Shindo-kun? What a surprise!" he said cheerfully. "Akira didn't mention that he would be bringing anyone along."

"Sorry, father. It was rather…spur of the moment." Akira sounded rather embarrassed to have been so uncharacteristically whimsical, bringing a laugh out of his father.

"No matter, we have plenty of places set," Akiko said airily, bidding them to sit. "Hiroshi?" she gestured towards a young man that Hikaru presumed to be the house-keeper. "If you could prepare an extra futon in Akira's room, please…" The man bowed slightly and went to do so as Hikaru and Akira sat down at the table, kneeling in the proper _seiza_ that Hikaru could still never be completely comfortable with.

Akira cleared his throat quietly and asked, "How have you been, father?"

"Things are quiet and I have been quite well," was the response. "I can soon return to China to resume my playing schedule. I've already had to drop out of two tournaments, so I'm hoping to be able to pick up another before returning to retired life."

"And will you be returning to Tokyo soon?" his son continued as his mother poured tea for him and Hikaru.

Hikaru sipped mindlessly at his, keeping his nose far outside the discussion. He could tell from the somber look that Akira's mother had that things weren't perfectly well. From Akira's expression, he could see that Akira was intensely worried about his father and wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it.

"I'll be spending another three weeks in China and then heading straight for South-Korea for an international amateur title tournament. So…" the former Meijin calculated in his head for a moment. "I should be back home in about two months."

Akira swallowed hard and lifted his tea cup to his lips. "I see," he said before taking a sip. At the other end of the table, Akiko picked up conversation with her mother about Akira's cousins.

"So, Akira? How did you find your match against Ogata-kun?" Touya Kouyo asked.

"As always, I find his method of play rather difficult to match," Akira admitted, earlier signs of distress successfully masked now. Hikaru took another sip of his tea. "He never seems to let me get into the flow of the game."

"I understand. I've had similar difficulty with him over the years. Not so much recently, but…" the man's eyes hazed over a bit in recollection, "he always does put on a show."

"Have you ever played against Ogata-sensei, Shindo?" Touya asked politely, aware that Hikaru had been uncharacteristically silent for the entire discussion.

"Only…only once, but he wasn't taking me seriously at the time," Hikaru admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "We haven't seemed to match up in the title tournaments yet."

"Well, there is still a chance for that to happen," his rival encouraged. "You're still in the prelims for the Honinbou and Ouza titles, correct?"

"And Tengen," the young pro added shyly.

"Ogata-kun mentioned his match against you to me," the former Meijin began ominously. "He had interesting things to say about your play, but…" he broke off to chuckle a bit, "…he was incredibly drunk at the time, right?"

Hikaru nodded emphatically. "His game was terribly off. It wouldn't even compare to his usual style."

"When was this?" Akira asked with genuine curiosity.

"Just after he had won the 10-dan title, he and I were scheduled at the same event." Hikaru hastily drank more tea before he had to remember the match any more than he ought. It had been Sai's last game before…

Hikaru choked a bit on his tea, instigating a small coughing fit that drew the entire table's attention to him.

"Sorry, please excuse me a moment," he managed, leaving the table in desperate search for a bathroom. He walked down a hallway, turning a few times and managing to get himself completely lost. He coughed weakly, looking around helplessly for a moment.

Abruptly, Touya had his elbow in a strangely firm grip and pulled him back a ways and into a bathroom. Hikaru didn't have a chance to express his gratitude before falling to his knees and throwing the toilet seat up just in time to escape fouling it.

"Shindo?" Akira asked shakily from where he still stood in the doorway. He stepped inside and closed the door, moving to kneel beside his friend.

Hikaru was still spluttering and coughing, face well inside the toilet rim. His fists clenched and unclenched uselessly as his stomach poured out a few more times. He felt soft pressure on his back and tears on his cheeks as he regained control of his heaving gut.

"Sorry about that, Touya," he huffed, wiping his mouth with a bit of toilet paper. "That happens from time to time." He wiped his tears with his sleeve, surprised to find Touya's hand still on his back.

"'Time to time'? What does that mean?"

'_Leave it to Touya to find the right questions.'_ Hikaru couldn't explain the fact that his deepest emotions pulled physical reactions without explaining the peculiarity of his connection with Sai, and even more than that, he doubted that the other pro would believe such a thing.

'_When did it happen that I stopped feeling Sai's feelings?'_ he wondered for a countless time. _'It was always this powerful before, but when was it my own sadness that—'_ Hikaru broke off the thought as another wave of nausea shook his body. He managed to stave off another round of vomiting, but he still found himself in a cold sweat. The gentle pressure of Touya's hand was now moving in small circles, anchoring him to the warmth of the sensation.

"Do you want me to get someone?" Akira asked calmly.

"No. Just…give me a moment." Hikaru grimaced, clapping a hand over his mouth and breathing heavily through his nose. Akira made to break away but his rival's hand was fisted in his _hakama_, keeping him there.

"What can I do?" Touya's hands rubbed harder against his rival's back. "Shindo?"

"Just stay…with me…" Hikaru panted through his fingers. He leaned heavily on the other pro, trying to steady his breathing. He was relieved that, though his friend tensed at the request, the gentle hand moved to squeeze his shoulder while Touya's other hand wiped the sweat from his face and neck with his kimono sleeve.

"Are you going to be okay?" Akira asked patiently as Hikaru's breathing eased considerably.

"Yeah. I just react to altitude change sometimes," Hikaru lied easily. He used Akira's aid to stand up slowly. "I guess I just have a weak constitution."

Touya made a noise in the back of his throat that was almost a scoff though he didn't make a comment. Instead, he said, "Hurry and straighten yourself up then. It's rude to keep everyone waiting to eat."

And though Hikaru knew he should smile at his friend, he just couldn't make his face obey. He ended up staring hollowly at the space between Akira's eyes, unwilling to acknowledge or meet the concern he would find within the fiery aqua there.

* * *

><p><em>Hooray for subtext! Sorry if it seems slow. I'm trying to ease into what's happening. More soon~<br>Disclaimer: fanfics on a fanfic site? Appalling. :P_


	3. Chapter 3

Akira poured another cup of tea for Touya Kouyo. It was rather late, but he had near insisted on getting a game out of the father he hadn't seen in weeks.

Hikaru had been behaving so abnormally all day that Akira couldn't help but worry about his friend and rival. Dinner had been strange enough, and Akira had forced Hikaru to go to bed as soon as it ended, not that the other pro complained too much; he seemed exhausted. As his rival was lying down, though, what he saw in those olive eyes only amplified his concern.

The goban before him was one Akira remembered vaguely from visits to the house in his childhood. It was a bit weathered and a few new chips had been imprinted on its surface, but it remained intact. The sound that the stones made on its surface was refreshingly nostalgic. The younger Touya allowed himself comfort at the familiarity of the scene, maintaining the stoic silence his father enjoyed playing in. His father broke that silence as he cut early into the formation on his left of the board.

"You are not yourself tonight." The statement derailed the younger Touya and he broke off a move in mid-play. His hand remained uselessly extended over the board. "What did you want to discuss with me?"

Akira cleared his throat and snapped down his stone, throwing a half-hearted parry against the assault. "I didn't wish to be so bold with this matter. I'd hoped we could play a bit first…"

"And yet," the former Meijin smiled, "since you were small, you would approach me for any matter by first asking for a game. Please, son, speak your mind."

Akira flushed, still half-anticipating another move from his father. When he realized that the game was indeed halted until he spoke, he sighed and folded his hands together.

"What happened with Shindo in Yokohama, Otou-san?" he asked grudgingly. "Since his return, he hasn't mentioned the visit, but he seems changed somehow. He's…" Akira trailed off into pensive silence.

'_Somehow, he's older now. Or, rather, more unhappy. Or even—'_

"You don't have to worry about Shindo-kun," Touya Kouyo said decisively, laying a stone in the heart of the current battle to the right.

"Eh?"

"Even now, that boy is coming to realize the strength that he carries." The man gestured to the board. "Now, do you see a way to salvage the current situation?"

"Well, of course, but even then—"

"Can you wrest the board from me in this game?"

"No, Otou-san. That is beyond what I have played." =_chk_=

"Now, imagine that you are Shindo-kun." =_**chk**_= "Can you win this game?"

Touya hesitated at the request, looking over the game. Given the circumstance, there was no way for Shindo—who couldn't even best Akira two out three games—could pull around and regroup enough to win. _'But if it was Shindo…'_

"I wouldn't have decided yet," Touya said thoughtfully, moving his hand to his chin. _'I would make a move…here,'_ his mind highlighted a spot, _"and see if you would follow the play. If you followed his hand for thr-no, four more hands, then he could turn it around. But could I…'_

He tried it, placing a stone where Shindo would. Touya Kouyo chuckled, following the play as expected. Akira relaxed, continuing the pattern.

"So there's your answer," he said with a smile. "Before his match with me, I doubt that Shindo-kun could have made that decision either." Play continued until a sharp =_**chk**_= broke off the pattern, leaving the younger player stranded in white's territory, black stones cut off and dead in all directions.

"Ah!" Akira gasped. How could he have missed such a play? Would Shindo have seen it? "I resign," he conceded, completely beaten by both Shindo and his father. "But I still don't—"

"I know," his father cut him off. "Shindo-kun is just working on breaking out of a stagnant phase. You can expect great, great things from him soon." Akira couldn't suppress a cold apprehension as he solemnly cleared the board.

He kept his head down as he asked, "And me, Otou-san? Have I reached a plateau in my skill?"

"No, not just yet," the man sighed. "So long as both of you continue to look forward, you can overcome any challenge. _Forward_, Akira," he emphasized. "Neither of you can concern yourselves over what is now behind you." He beckoned for Akira to sit beside him, and the boy easily complied. "Shindo Hikaru will soon realize this fact and he will rise very, very far. It will be up to you to keep up with him then. But until that time comes, you have to be patient and support him when you can. His Go right now…it is beginning to bloom."

Touya Kouyo began to build a match that Akira didn't recognize. He watched the game develop until he could successfully identify his father as playing black, but the white…

"Yes, this is Shindo-kun. The game began as _shidougo, _but he became a bit angry with me, so I got serious a few hands before this." Akira barely heard his father, intent on the play of the game. Shindo's play was interesting to the point of being foreign. It was almost as if…

"You see it, don't you?" the former Meijin asked, not halting in his placement. White stones were falling to the board in a way that seemed forced and hesitant up until…=_**chk**_=

"Ah!" Touya exclaimed, leaning forward almost expectantly. As the stones continued to fall, he cried, "Wait! What did you say to him here?" pointing at the stone.

"He will tell you if you ask him properly at a suitable time."

"So he told you—!" Akira bit off the accusation before he could embarrass himself. He knew that such jealousy was completely out of line, and yet he could not quell it. It burned in him so suddenly and so strongly that he was ashamed.

Touya Kouyo ignored the outburst, playing through the rest of the game.

"He resigned here," he stated simply as he placed his last stone. "Though his retaliation was impressive, it couldn't compete with his poor foundational play."

Akira sighed and refocused his attention on analyzing his rival's play. His later play, though noteworthy, wasn't close to the usual cutthroat play that he was used to seeing from the other. But it wasn't as poorly contrived defensively. It was play that considered the entire board, scavenging points here and there to lessen the impact of the loss. It wasn't uncharacteristic of Shindo to play that way, but the difference in effectiveness compared to before…Akira wasn't sure what to think about his rival's breakthrough.

"Otou-san…Why did Shindo travel to Yokohama? I asked him about Sai for your sake, but…I just don't understand." He stared at the goban without seeing anything in particular. He had the distinct feeling that something very obvious was escaping him but he couldn't seem to find it. It left a distinctly unpleasant taste on his tongue. His father's knowing, sympathetic smile didn't alleviate the sensation.

"You would not believe anything I told you unless I told you all that Shindo-kun entrusted me with. I will not violate that trust when he specifically asked me not to tell you." The understanding smile softened further. "You already know so much of the truth, but you simply won't allow yourself to believe it."

Akira couldn't conceal his annoyance, but he allowed only the faintest of frowns to flit across his features before busying himself with clearing the goban. "I'm sure I will understand in time," he decided aloud with only a bit of sarcasm in his tone. "Thank you for the game and the…instruction." He rose smoothly and bowed. He left the room and slid the door shut behind him.

Touya took a brief moment to gather his thoughts and curb his irritation before returning to his room. He found Hikaru sitting up in his futon, sipping at a glass of water. The main light was out, but the outer door was open and light from the deck was more than enough to see by.

"Touya! I was just wondering where you were. It's pretty late, and…Touya?" Hikaru set his cup down beside him. "What's the matter?"

Akira stood in the doorway, considering his rival thoughtfully, completely unaware of the frown growing across his face.

"I'm just a bit…never mind. Are you feeling better?" He closed the door and began to disrobe, hanging his garments where they would be easily accessible in the morning, where he'd draped Hikaru's kimono earlier. He felt bottle green eyes hastily look away.

"Much better, thanks," the other boy mumbled. "Sorry if I caused any problems," he added as Akira pulled on his pajamas.

Touya glanced over to see exactly how red the boy was, amused at the reaction. It was the same way earlier when he had to undress Shindo because the 4-dan had been too unfamiliar with his kimono to do it himself.

'_Honestly. How juvenile can he be?'_ he thought as he tried not to laugh.

"Hey," he called, bringing Shindo's gaze back to him. "Don't worry about it." Akira smiled at the double entendre. The long-haired pro lit a lamp beside his futon and crossed the room to close the outer door. "Did you get any sleep?"

"A bit. More like a nap, really. I don't really feel tired though. But do you want to sleep? It's really late…" And it was already almost two in the morning, but Akira sat on the floor beside his friend.

"It's fine. If you're not tired, I won't make you sit here in the dark."

Shindo frowned, crossing his arms. "That's no good, Touya. If you're tired, just go to sleep. I'm fine, so don't worry about me."

"Don't be stupid!" Touya kept his voice low but his tone still made Shindo cringe. "You're clearly _not_ fine, even if you won't say so, so why don't you let me stay by your side since you won't talk about it." Akira congratulated himself for not raising his voice though the outburst had made his heart pound and his breath came heavier than it should.

Touya spent way too much of his time actively trying not to feel; it made being friends with Shindo Hikaru absolute torture. He never used to think of himself as a passionate person but maybe it was simply that no one else knew quite as well how to get under Akira's skin.

"…Sorry, Touya. I'm…" Hikaru hesitated, his words failing off before even being said. He seemed thoughtful for a moment, but then he sighed. "If I had your vocabulary, I might be able to explain what I'm feeling, but…" he shrugged, that same empty smile playing at his mouth, "I'm just stupid I guess."

"Shindoooo," Akira groaned, head falling to his chest briefly before he glared at his rival in earnest. "Stop calling yourself stupid; it's pathetic. And don't worry about sounding stupid. We're _friends_, okay? You should be able to talk to me. If you think that you can't, well…I guess I'm the stupid one if that's the case."

"Sorry!" Shindo apologized again, still not quite understanding Akira's distress. "It's getting to be summer again, and, I dunno, I guess it's just a sensitive time for me or something like that…"

"…Does it have to do with Children's Day?" Akira asked quietly, the real question of course,_ 'Does it have to do with Honinbou Shuusaku?'_

"…yeah, sort of. Basically. Yeah." Hikaru couldn't take his gaze off of Touya's eyes where they smoldered ardently.

"Are you going to tell me about what happened?" He no longer needed to add the specifics to that particular question.

"Not this time."

Akira frowned, softening his glare. Hikaru took the opportunity to look down at his hands. "Maybe we should go to sleep now," Shindo offered quietly.

"In a moment," Touya said almost coldly, studying his rival's diminished frame. With his legs crossed and his hands folded neatly in his lap, Shindo appeared almost demure in his bedclothes. He was wearing an old jersey that was faded around the collar and elbows. It was rare to see him hold still for any amount of time, but like this, the other pro could be sleeping already. Akira almost hated this newfound reticence in his closest friend. The way that his blond hair covered his eyes was just like—

"Touya?" Hikaru's bangs fell back to reveal inquisitive green eyes. It was Akira's turn to blush.

"No, you're right. It's late and I'm very tired," Touya rushed over his words, returning to his own futon and fumbling with the lamp. "Good night, Shindo," he said as darkness swallowed them both.

"Good night, Touya," Hikaru replied, smile easily audible in his voice.

* * *

><p>The <em>sakura <em>viewing was more than Hikaru could have hoped for. Since Touya's father was in the best of spirits, the entire family was traveling to Ise to attend the viewing festival there. He got to see the face that Touya made first thing in the morning—always a treat—and play a game with the former Meijin right after breakfast before heading out with Touya's family on the short drive to the station.

"Hey, Touya?" he called for perhaps the twelfth time since they boarded the bullet train.

"_What,_ Shindo?" His rival maintained his steady stare out the train window.

"Do you think we'll be allowed to drink sake?"

"Who knows." That Touya wasn't even trying to mask his irritation somehow made Hikaru irrepressibly happy.

He grinned. "Hey, Touya?"

"For the love of—What is it, Shindo?" Akira turned his glare at the other boy.

"…nothing." Hikaru couldn't admit that he just wanted to see the expression on his rival's face. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the way Touya was glowering.

"Quit being bothersome," was his answer, and he resumed watching the scenery pass by.

The ride progressed much like this and they arrived in Ise in the early afternoon with time enough to eat before the festival became too involved and hectic.

For the most part, Touya's family stayed near the periphery, engaging but not losing themselves to the raucous and various activities of the celebration, possibly in small part due to Touya Kouyo's health, but several of the adults would occasionally glance up at the festivities as if they were offensive to him or her personally. After a long time of holding back, Hikaru grabbed Akira by the wrist and started dragging his friend into the commotion of the event.

"Shindo!" Touya exclaimed, resisting half-heartedly.

"Come on, Touya! Let's have a _bit_ of fun!"

Touya was drawn in half to the strength of the other boy and half because he could finally see a grin that was completely genuine on his face.

"All right then," he murmured, trying to keep up as Hikaru pulled him mercilessly through the multicolored throng of onlookers.

The smells and sounds were enough to distract Hikaru from his goal, but the _sights…_

Hikaru was searching for the perfect place to catch the entire atmosphere, far from the stuffiness of Camp Touya. The pair of them ended up stranded near the center of all of the activity, each panting from the sprint. Akira looked like he was about to positively keel over.

All around, there were people laughing and shouting, running and dancing, feasting and drinking…_this_ was what Hikaru had needed to see; all of these people were just so needlessly, desperately alive. It was wonderful. It was its own magic, and Hikaru wondered if Akira would even notice the relevance. He looked expectantly at his friend.

Touya, still gasping for breath, let his eyes wander around in such obvious confusion, almost disdainfully, at the crowd. It probably seemed so messy to the finicky young person. Hikaru decided—almost pitying the boy—that it couldn't be helped and took his wrist again, dragging his friend at a much more reasonable pace. He had only taken a few steps when he realized just why he had stopped, freezing all over again.

Soft music was playing, drowning out all of the noise of the festival. It carried over the din and seemingly straight into Hikaru's ears until he thought he would be deafened by it. And then it was gone again.

"Did you hear that?" he asked Touya. The other boy only made his eyes into a question. He heard it again, sweet and plaintive. He knew that feeling, evoked by the music, ingrained into its timbre. "_That!_ Touya, where's it coming from?"

"Shindo, what are you talking about?" His tone was concerned. Hikaru dropped Touya's wrist to investigate alone. "Hikaru!" Akira chased after his friend.

'_What the hell…' _Hikaru wondered, rubbing at his ear. _'What the hell is that noise?'_

He almost gave up. He was about to turn back to Touya and say, "_Never mind. I guess I'm just hungry."_ They would laugh it off and everything could seem normal again, but the music had him. The music was inside of him and it resonated off of his ribcage. Then there was nothing inside of him _but _the music.

"There!"

Leaning up against a _sakura_ tree was a lonely biwa, strings near limp. Hikaru frowned as he came across it.

"Who could have…" He reached for it, arm going numb before he could touch it. The body of the instrument was flecked with blood. Touya's hand was on his shoulder. His friend was behind him. Hikaru was frozen staring at the abandoned biwa. It began to play again, the strings not moving, no plectrum in sight. He remembered the feeling from six years previous and a cold sweat started across his body.

"Hikaru, answer me," he heard Akira try to demand though the other boy's voice quavered around the words. Hikaru couldn't so much as whimper in response.

_**Can you hear my song?**_

The words crawled into his brain. He flinched at the presence that probed at him.

_**Oh my! You can, can't you!**_

A slender hand appeared from behind the _sakura_ tree. It was a woman, her face painted white with lips crimson, the color of the blood on the biwa. Her hair was long, falling past her waist. It was a deep shade of black, dressed with utmost care. An elaborate headpiece sat atop the ghost's head, gold and silver shimmering against a backdrop of night. She wore an elaborate ceremonial robe, colors ranging from palest lavender to deepest rouge. Hikaru avoided looking the ghost in the eye.

"Touya, we should go…" he choked out, doing his best not to acknowledge the spirit before him. He didn't want—

_**How rude! I know you can see me!**_

The woman stepped lightly right up to Hikaru's face and he had no choice. He stared into her eyes, dark and pure as jet, and promptly collapsed against Touya's thin frame, transfixed.

_**That's better, I suppose. **_The lady appeared distraught. _**I suppose you'll have to do, **_she said with a sigh, reaching out to him with her plectrum. It was a shimmery ivory and the tip appeared to have been dipped in blood. _**Yes, you'll do nicely.**_

The plectrum touched his forehead.

* * *

><p><em>Hikaru wandered through the darkness. He felt almost the same as he had when Sai had disappeared, but…<em>

_No, it was the opposite of that time. Something was present. Something uninvited._

"_Hello?" he called into the blackness. "Who are you?"_

_**I am Tachibana-no-Setsuko. And who are you, child?**__ Her voice was the same music he had heard from the biwa._

_No, the biwa hadn't been making noise._

"_I'm Shindo Hikaru. Look, this is some kind of mistake; I don't know how long you've been waiting, but it's too late now. It's already the twenty-first century."_

…_**Waiting? I've always been waiting. I can't think of a time when I won't be waiting.**_

_Hikaru almost took another step forward, but the woman appeared suddenly in front of him. He didn't react other than cocking his head to the side. She was dressed much differently. Her hair hung simply down her back and she wore a simple white yukata, appearing as if she had been sleeping just moments before._

"_That's what your music said, but what are you waiting for, Setsuko?"_

_She was almost as tall as he was. She looked away for a long moment that only took an instant, but it seemed years had passed before she looked back at him._

_**I'm waiting to die. Couldn't you hear?**_

_Hikaru had no way to respond to the woman. How could he tell her that she was already dead?_

* * *

><p>"Shindo-kun was probably just exhausted from the activity. We'll stay overnight here and catch the first bullet train back in the morning."<p>

"But, kaa-san! He was already ill! What if it's something serious?"

"Akira, just relax. This boy is stronger than all that. Just give him some time to recover his strength. He will be fine." Hikaru struggled to sit up, still unwilling to open his eyes. "See? He's coming around now."

"Hikaru!" Touya called, using an arm to support his friend. Hikaru blinked stupidly, unable to see what was in front of him. The sky was almost dark, a brilliant sunset just beginning over the far horizon. He shook his hair out of his face and looked at Akira as if the other boy had grown a new head.

"Touya? Did I fall asleep or something?" Akira colored and withdrew as Hikaru worked to get his legs under him, settling for sitting cross-legged on the picnic blanket that Touya Kouyo had brought. He found his bag and pulled it closer. "Sorry for the trouble. I guess I didn't sleep too well last night after all." Touya looked away, his ears glowing to match the sunset. "Thanks, Touya. You're always looking out for me."

"Seriously, don't mention it," Akira muttered tersely, flummoxed and livid because of it. He secretly decided that Hikaru was putting up a front because his parents were still hovering nearby. He told himself that Shindo would have a sufficient explanation for his ears alone and would relate it to him just as soon as they were alone.

Hikaru patted down the pockets of his kimono after rummaging through his bag for a few long seconds. Then he gave a large, probably fake sigh.

"I think I dropped my fan in the festival. Would it be all right for me to go try to find it?" he asked hopefully, looking past Akira to address Touya Kouyo instead.

"So long as you stay close to Akira and take things slow, it should be fine," he said gravely.

"Should we call your mother, Shindo-kun?" Akiko asked solemnly, concern very evident in her maternal eyes.

"That shouldn't be necessary," Hikaru said hastily. "I'll tell her myself once I return home."

Touya's mother still bullied him into eating supper before venturing off into the mass of people that had, in all fairness, quite dissipated at that point. Akira was still beyond annoyed and kept shooting his friend challenging glances.

Shindo wondered vaguely what kind of excuse Touya would accept. He couldn't talk about his mind's new passenger without in some way relating it to Sai. After both boys had finished their bento, Touya aided him unnecessarily to his feet and they began walking. Hikaru made sure to grab his bag discreetly as they made their way from the tiny campsite.

"Is it really okay to let us go off alone?" Hikaru wondered aloud.

"They've already had quite a bit to drink," Touya half-explained. "They were waiting for you to wake up before we checked into a hotel. Really, I don't understand how you can be such an inconvenience." That made Hikaru stop and tilt his head. Touya scoffed at the unasked question. "If you weren't feeling well, you might have said so at any point during the past two days," he said, irritation beginning to leak out from the well-defined creases on his forehead. "Perhaps when I invited you, when you were taken ill at supper, when I _asked_ if you were feeling well several times! God, Shindo, I just don't understand at all what made the viewing so damn important!" He was shouting and shaking and completely rigid with fury.

"I'm…" Hikaru's throat tensed around his apology. He felt that he'd apologized to Akira so many times in these two days that no world of apology could rectify his ignorance. "I don't even know how to…"

"Is your damn fan even missing, or did you just want to wander around aimlessly some more?" Akira shouted, hands clenching into fists. Hikaru was suddenly afraid that Touya might take a swing at him, not because he couldn't handle the slender boy in a fight, but simply because their friendship might be irreparably damaged at that point. He had never seen Akira even come close to a fight before, but if it was Hikaru, he was certain that he would be the one to push Akira to that point.

Hikaru pulled his fan slowly out of his pocket, drawing a noise of disgust almost like a sneeze/snort/cough out of his friend. Akira almost walked away—Hikaru saw it in his eyes—but held himself back, most likely on the slim chance of hearing an actual explanation.

"There was something there when I fainted," olive green eyes implored Akira to listen. "That biwa…if it's still there, I'll explain it to you better, but right now, I just…I can't explain, I just _need_ to find it. Touya, please!" Akira's face grew distant, each of its sharp features drawn and veiled. Hikaru allowed his voice to grow softer. "Akira, _please._" He was overpowered by an urge that wasn't his to reach for Touya, to grab his hand, to beg on his knees for his patience and understanding and lov—

Hikaru wrenched his gaze away from Akira's, clearing his throat and shaking his head.

'_Setsuko?'_

_**Hmm? I'm sorry, is something wrong? **_ she purred like a cat.

'_Knock it off! What the hell are you doing?'_

_**Sorry. I guess that's just what I'm feeling right now.**_

"Shindo?"

'_You little…No more of that! You'd better knock that off right now or I'm not going to get your biwa back!'_

_**It's much more proper for you to address me as 'Setsuko-hime' or even 'Tachibana-sama'. **_Setsuko's voice was languid and carried a sense of entitlement.

'_She was obviously more pampered than Sai ever was,'_ he thought viciously, not caring if she could hear or not.

"Shindo!" Hikaru's attention finally on him, Touya continued, "Do you even know where you're going?" Acid was still very present in his tone.

"Yeah, it's this way," he murmured hastily, keeping his head down. He felt like he was an unruly dog out on a walk with his master keeping him on a tight leash. They certainly set off that way, keeping a reasonable if uncomfortable pace. They didn't even speak until…

"_**There!"**_ Hikaru and Setsuko exclaimed at the same time. The biwa had been knocked over and a fine coat of _sakura_ petals covered the entire thing, but it remained where Hikaru had found it. Setsuko shed the confines of his mind easily, donning a visible form to run and embrace her instrument but couldn't make contact with it. Hikaru hastened to pick it up himself before the spirit could make her dismay affect him greatly. He gingerly lifted the ancient biwa, brushing off the flower petals.

Akira glanced at it over his shoulder, more curious than he would ever let on.

'_Setsuko, how old is this thing?' _Hikaru asked his new companion. She merely sniffed, strewing out her midnight locks with a light toss of her head. He sighed. _'Sorry. How old is this lovely biwa, Setsuko-hime?'_ The woman snorted lightly, almost the same way that Akira did when he was amused but shouldn't be.

_**Older than time, or I should say, it's older than I am. I learned to play on that biwa.**_Her eyes shone with memory.

"It's ancient," Akira whispered, reaching out and hesitating as if he dared not touch such a thing.

_**Made of lovely rosewood and strung with the finest silk, the same scarlet as found on my junihitoe,**_ at Hikaru's blank look, she indicated her elaborate, many-layered kimono. _**The engraving was done by a master craftsman. See, there?**_ She indicated what looked to be koi fish near the base of the instrument. _**That's real ivory. And this, **_she pulled out her plectrum, _**is the same cut of ivory. No biwa is meant to be played without its matching plectrum.**_ Her face was serious, but Hikaru could feel her playfulness beneath the demeanor. Well, beneath her make-up _and_ her demeanor.

"Shindo, why did you need to fetch such a thing, valuable as it may be?" Touya frowned. "You're not a collector and even _you _aren't so tacky as to want to sell the thing."

"You flatter me, as always," Hikaru commented dryly. "No, Touya, this isn't anything like that. I can feel something from this biwa." He cradled it more gently than he would a fledgling bird. "It has a presence about it. Can't you feel it?" He beckoned for Akira to touch it, and even Touya could not explain his desire to back away. Hikaru grabbed for his hand, surprised and almost hurt when his friend flinched away from his touch.

"What are you, mad?" Touya demanded, almost shaking. With just a look, Hikaru knew that he appeared terribly bizarre to his friend. And he knew that Touya would never believe as easily as his father would.

'_Perhaps…' _he paused, Setsuko intent on his face now. _'Setsuko-hime, just when were you…born. And how old are you?'_

_**How very impertinent a question! **_Setsuko appeared to be flushed, but Hikaru was having trouble reading her expression. Akira was beside him, still trembling.

'_Please, Setsuko! He might never listen if I mess this up now! When were you alive?'_

…_**What?**_

"Shindo?" Touya appeared so torn, halfway between running like mad and slapping Hikaru if only to break him out of his silence.

"Touya, I'm sorry, all I can do is apologize to you right now." Hikaru glowered at Setsuko. The spirit was still pressing questions into his mind incessantly. "I still can't really explain…"

"I don't want an excuse, just tell me what's happening. I'm almost at my limit, Hikaru. I swear it, I will leave you—"

Unwilling to hear another word of this, Hikaru burst out, "It's haunted!" Then he bit his lip and clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Wha…_What?"_

…_**Eh?**_

* * *

><p><em>And there we go. The plot! Yay! I'll have revised the summary at this point, but sorry if this isn't what you signed on for. I couldn't get this idea out of my head once it emerged. It's much better than the original plot I thought of and it doesn't change the key points of the storyline in my head, so I'm going with it. Thank you to my reviewers <strong>Ntrtts<strong> and **Pluma Desatada **both for finding my writing to be adequate and for taking the time to tell me so. You're wonderful! More soon, ttfn~_

disclaimer: If I owned this, they'd already have done what I'm telling them to do now, so...yeah. Not mine.


	4. Chapter 4

This wasn't a Hikaru he knew. Not this boy who could hear inaudible things, lose consciousness for no discernible reason, talk about strange things like 'presence'…Akira was afraid of what he saw Shindo becoming.

"Shindo?" he called after watching his friend make all manner of pained expressions without any physical external reason, and he was growing tired of waiting for an explanation.

"Touya, I'm sorry, all I can do is apologize to you right now. I still can't really explain…"

Beyond frustration, concern and doubt, Touya exclaimed shakily, "I don't want an excuse, just tell me what's happening. I'm almost at my limit, Hikaru. I swear it, I will leave you—"

"It's haunted!" a hand flew to cover Hikaru's mouth.

"Wha…_What?" _Akira recoiled, fear blending with disgust and disbelief to build a negative response that resounded in every cubic centimeter of his body. He stepped back, repulsed beyond words, beyond conscious _thought_ for a brief instant. "Are you _serious?" _Touya's hand slid up into his hair, trying to discern whether his rival was insane or if Hikaru just thought Akira was thick-witted enough to fall into some form of elaborate prank.

"It's, uh, kind of like…like a feeling I get sometimes," Hikaru babbled, becoming redder and redder. Touya could only look on, finding himself beyond words for the first time in a long while. "It's kind of…" Shindo threw his gaze to the ground. "I can feel a lot of emotion coming from this," he gestured to the biwa. "Maybe if you were to touch it—"

"This is not _funny,_ Shindo!" he hissed, hand falling out of his hair to lock with his elbow as he crossed his arms tightly around himself. His friend appeared miserable, clinging delicately to the cursed instrument.

'_No! Not "cursed". There's just no _way_ for that to be possible…'_Akira thought desperately, shivering so badly he could feel his teeth knocking together. Soon, Shindo would be able to hear how frightened he was. He donned his haughtiest mask. "Stop playing pretend and let's go back to my family. The sun's almost down; they might come looking for us soon." The voice he used wasn't his. He felt his tongue slow, unwilling to lash out so coldly against his best friend, but Hikaru wasn't leaving him any option. He was being annoyingly persistent about this "haunted" business.

Hikaru hugged the biwa to his body, head slowly lowering. He nodded quickly once his face was completely out of sight. Akira made himself look away as Hikaru swiped at his cheeks and stowed the biwa tenderly in his backpack, its neck barely poking out the top. When Touya finally sighed and began walking, he heard Hikaru trudge after him in a defeated manner.

'_Stop it,' _Akira thought aggressively. _'You don't get to be mad. I'm still mad. Dammit…'_

"…Dammit!" He stopped walking. He spun to face his rival. Hikaru almost blundered into him, head still down. "I still don't understand it or you or _anything,_ but we're going to be staying here for the night. While you were unconscious, we decided that you'll be sharing a room with me, so please, _please_ try to act normal for at least a little while." Shindo nodded, refusing to raise his head. Akira looked at him carefully for a moment before resuming their trek back to his parents. When Hikaru made to fall behind again, he pulled his friend to his side by the sleeve, carefully concealing the incriminating bag between them. The long haired boy _definitely _didn't want Shindo to try explaining the biwa to his family and even less did he want to try himself.

"Did you find it?" his mother asked politely, face a bit red from the sake she was drinking.

"Yes, we did," Touya answered, fake smile coming easily to his features. "It was a bit dark so we had to really search for it."

"Good, good. We heard that there are going to be fireworks later on, so we were going to stay and enjoy them. And you?" His mother looked pointedly at Hikaru who still kept his head lowered. "Are you two feeling up to staying a bit later?"

Akira found himself shaking his head almost vehemently. "We'll be leaving in the morning and Shindo is already feeling tired. We should go and check in to the hotel now. Have rooms been reserved for everyone already?"

"Yes, yes," his mother said warmly, kissing her son on the forehead. "It's one that your father played in a tournament at recently, and they've arranged everything. It's close to the station, so if you hurry, you can catch the last train over."

Akira wanted to hug his father, knowing that he wouldn't be seeing the man before he would have to leave in the morning—and probably not for weeks after that—but that wouldn't have been acceptable no matter how inebriated the man was at the time; a tight bow for his father instead. He grabbed his own bag and took Shindo by the wrist and hurried off toward the train station.

"Oi, Touya, we could've stayed for the fireworks," Hikaru pressed quietly, tugging lightly at the vice-grip that Touya had on his wrist. Akira squeezed a bit harder before releasing the boy entirely.

"What you do at this point is entirely up to you." He was bitterly calm. "I'm done. I can't feel responsible for you right now. I don't know if you're delusional or what, but you, right now, decide what you want to do."

"…I want to stay with you…" the voice didn't belong to Hikaru. Rather, the tone that he spoke with didn't match the context at all. It was bald and confident and almost…

…_suggestive._

Akira studied his friend carefully. Shindo appeared almost angry with himself, biting down firmly on his lip, brow furrowed in an expression akin to concentration with just a hint of displeasure. No, more than a hint…it was…

He sighed. "This is what I mean, Shindo. What's the matter with you?"

Hikaru seemed surprised then suddenly wilted. "I'm sorry, Touya. I don't…I shouldn't have even agreed to this trip. I haven't been very…w-well recently. It's kind of a hard time and I guess I can't deal-l with it like I want to, but," he looked straight into Akira's eyes abruptly, "I don't want you to be mad at me, no matter what." Bottle green eyes, shining with frustrated tears. Touya was disarmed completely.

"Okay. Let's go. We'll need to hurry to get to the station in time."

* * *

><p>They reached the station with just enough time to catch the last train to the hotel. The entire way there, Hikaru had Setsuko cackling in his ear, saying all kinds of things that made Hikaru flush all the way to the ends of his blond hair.<p>

_**He really does look like a woman; no wonder you look at him the way you do…**_ Setsuko crooned, sizing both of them up slyly.

'_Shut up, please? I'm begging you, stop it,' _Hikaru pleaded, wondering how he'd be able to look at his friend again. _'I do _not_ look at him like that.'_

_**Well, the joke is becoming rather old I suppose, **_she finally conceded, settling down to sit demurely across from them. She combed through her hair with her fingers. _**Doesn't his hair look soft, though? I could run my fingers through it all day…Mmm…**_

Hikaru stared at his knees and wished himself anywhere else.

_**This is a strange carriage. It runs under the city?**_

'_Sure does.'_

_**How does it work? I don't see any beasts pulling it.**_

'_Who knows.'_

Setsuko pouted for a moment, alternating her gaze between Hikaru and Akira with curiosity.

_**Say…why can't he see me?**_

'_I told you, Setsuko-hime. You're dead. No one can see you but me.'_

_**Well, why can you see me then?**_

'_I don't know, I just can.' _Hikaru sighed quietly to himself. Akira turned his head slightly before resuming his stare out the window. _'Setsuko-hime? What's the last thing you remember before I found your biwa?'_

Setsuko gave him a questioning glance. _**I've been waiting,**_ she answered simply. _**Waiting for a long, loooong time.**_ She stretched out in the seat, arching her back like a cat. Setsuko was very feline in nature and had most likely been pampered like one when she was still alive, and Hikaru was still no closer to figuring out just when that had been.

'_What did you do for a living before you had to wait?'_ he asked, trying a different approach.

_**What an absurd question, **_she scoffed. Hikaru hid his irritation and held out for an actual reply. _**I was high priestess at the Shinto shrine in Ise. I've not "worked" a day in my life. Can't you tell? **_she demanded, indicating her intricate dress. _**I was one of the Saio there…**_ her eyes sparkled in memory again and Hikaru knew he had a few moments before she would pester him again.

"Touya, what do you know about the Saio at the Ise Shrine?" he asked quickly. Touya looked at him briefly before sighing through his nose.

"They were Shinto priestesses that were related somehow to the emperor. It was just an elaborate ruse to promote the ruler at the time." Akira rolled his eyes. "It was just a meaningless intricacy of the old regime."

"O-oh…" Hikaru stammered, wincing as Setsuko took direct offense what Touya had said.

_**Meaningless? We Saio blessed our ruler with prayer and rituals that you wouldn't even begin to understand, peasant! **_ While Setsuko fumed, Hikaru dedicated his remaining willpower into shutting her out long enough to relax his new migraine. He massaged his temples vigorously, trying to shake the spirit from his mind. _**Okay, okay. I get it. I'll calm down. But seriously, Hikaru, you need to tell him to mind his manners!**_

Hikaru chuckled lightly at that before he remembered that Touya could hear him. But just the idea of criticizing _Touya's_ etiquette was so laughable that Hikaru couldn't contain himself.

"Shindo, what is it now?" Touya didn't sound completely unpleased, just exhausted.

"Just a funny memory. Something Waya said to me before he left for China."

"Oh?" It was probably an invitation to continue, but Hikaru wasn't quite sure how to lie anymore; he was far too worn-out.

"Something to do with Ochi and diarrhea. Makes for a bad mental image."

"Yes, I think that's quite enough detail for me." Touya shook off a layer of drowsiness. "I wasn't giving him lessons again, you know," he added after a bit of consideration.

"Eh?"

"You had mentioned something like that yesterday. I didn't train him or anything like that."

Hikaru vaguely recalled the topic, but why—

"It just slipped my mind until now," he explained, seeming to read Hikaru's thoughts. "I didn't want you to think something absurd like that. We just met up to play a few times. He doesn't think I take him seriously enough." Hikaru stopped listening to his friend.

'_I suppose a haunted biwa is "something absurd" too, right Setsuko?'_

_**Who knows anymore. Are you sure I'm dead?**_

Hikaru remembered the feeling of wanting to throttle a ghost, but Sai had never managed to be so…

'_insufferable,' _his brain supplied viciously.

_**Hm? Who is this "Sai"? **_Setsuko asked lightly, bored by the lack of dialogue.

'_A spirit who attached himself to me before you did,' _Hikaru thought dispassionately. _'That's how I know you're dead too.'_

_**Sai…what was his surname?**_

'_Fujiwara. Fujiwara-no-Sai. Did you know him?' _Shindo wondered absently as if ghosts could have some sort of phone tree or club meetings or something.

_**No. I did know my fair share of Fujiwaras, though. Their blood was all over the royal family tree. My father's mother was a Fujiwara. I could even be related to your Sai…**_she trailed off, though not in one of her usual moods. She appeared somewhat distraught about something. _**I don't remember—**_

"Shindo? This is our stop," Touya said lightly, his hand suddenly on Hikaru's shoulder.

"Oh, ah, thanks." Setsuko dangled around Hikaru's head, giggling at his expression: sleepy and thoroughly nonplussed.

"Come on, Shindo, before you fall asleep standing up…_again._" The attempt at a joke was enough for Hikaru to pretend to laugh, give a sheepish grin, and follow his friend off the train and up to the street.

_**Hikaru, you should really take the initiative in times like these,**_ Setsuko frowned. _**For instance…**_

His hand tangled in Touya's sleeve as Hikaru's body grew horribly heavy, causing him to nearly fall under his own weight.

"Oi, Shindo?" Touya tried to right his rival, finding the other pro to be largely unresponsive.

'_Setsuko, what the hell are you doing to me?' _Hikaru shouted to her.

_**We share a consciousness, right? **_she giggled. _**This is just a parlor trick for someone like me.**_

'_Just what…_are_ you? What is this…?' _Hikaru wondered, exhaustion fading his vision. He was vaguely aware of Touya lightly shaking his shoulders.

"Just a fever," he tried to reassure his friend.

_**A priestess,**_ Setsuko answered, pressing her will over Hikaru's body. _**I'm sure that Fujiwara spirit never tried anything like this before.**_

A hand that was Hikaru's—though at the same time, not his—covered Touya's fingers tenderly where they gripped his shoulder.

'_For a priestess, you don't seem very virtuous.' _Hikaru felt his jaw begin to move and clamped it shut frantically, clamping his cheek in his teeth. He hoped that the pain would better ground him. Setsuko tightened Hikaru's fingers around Akira's in defiance.

_**I was already sixteen when I left to be a Saio, young and royal and quite beautiful. I didn't care much for the stuffy lifestyle of a priestess. Besides, **_she tossed her hair impishly, _**this boy doesn't seem to mind. And he is **_**very**_** attractive…**_

"Hikaru, we're almost at the hotel. You can lie down when we get there."

"Okay…"

'_Setsuko, let me _go!' Hikaru pushed back against the pressure he felt on his body, relieved when he felt the priestess withdraw her power.

_**Don't be mean, Hikaru. **_She was pouting. _**It was just a bit of fun. I just thought that since you've been so concerned with him all evening—**_

'_Knock it off!' _She sniffed at the command but stayed silent.

Hikaru straightened up and made to continue when he realized—

"Shindo?"

He was still holding Touya's hand. He tried to loosen his fingers, but Setsuko's power still hadn't worn off. They were frozen, and the mischievous apparition only laughed horribly at the situation.

Unwilling to even suggest returning control to her for any matter, Hikaru, bright red and embarrassed beyond compare, asked quietly, "Do you mind? Just so I don't fall again or…" He could feel heat rising from the back of his neck.

"You're very strange today." He was annoyed—_very_ annoyed—but to Hikaru's surprise, his rival didn't even try to shake off his hand, even using the contact to pull Hikaru along beside him. "Why can't you just behave normally? Your moods are so scattered these days…" Akira was muttering, but Hikaru knew he was meant to hear. He found himself surprised at the thought of Touya actually _noticing_ his ordinary behaviors and moods.

_**See? What did I tell you?**_

'_Calm down, you! We've been friends for years and I've known him even longer than that! He was the only one I even _looked_ at for so long—'_

_**Nnn?**_

He ignored her. "Sorry. I guess I've just been re-evaluating a few things. A lot's…happened recently," he kept his voice low.

"Shindo, it's been _months_ since I've seen you as happy as you were this afternoon." Touya squeezed his hand. "What happened after that? You've been distracted ever since. You couldn't have—"

He broke off the statement as they reached their hotel. After staring dumbly at the door for a moment, not quite recognizing that it was indeed their destination, Touya slipped his hand out of Hikaru's grip to open the door. Setsuko's eyes went wide as she skipped ahead into the foyer, a quaint but well-fashioned room with a widescreen television and telephones and all manner of conversation. A boy played a handheld game sitting on the stairs. Akira walked over to the front desk to collect their room key, so Hikaru was better able to attend to his ghostly companion.

_**What on Earth…**_ Setsuko flitted all over the room, completely enthralled by the activity of the hall. She stopped at the television, inspecting the frame, the screen, and speakers all separately before noticing that it was discussing the global news.

'_Were you not paying attention at all on the walk here?'_

_**You were being distracting, only thinking about that other boy,**_ she accused quietly, focusing on a map of Asia that flooded the screen. _**Where is that? What kind of made up world is this? Hello? **_She tapped on the screen as if the news anchor could answer her questions. She became angry. _**Hikaru, he's ignoring me!**_

Hikaru laughed openly. _'That's a television, Setsuko-hime. The man inside can't hear you. He's miles away from here. The picture is only a recording.'_

_**Recording?**_

'_Yeah, like a moving photograph.'_

'_**Photograph?'**_

"This again," Hikaru groaned, rubbing his head. _'Just never mind. Things have gotten much more complicated since you were alive.'_

Setsuko regarded him very seriously for a moment.

_**You keep saying that, but I don't remember being dead.**_

'_Setsuko, it's been centuries since you were alive…I think. Who was the emperor when you were a priestess?'_

_**My brother, Korehito. As a sovereign, he is called Emperor Seiwa.**_

"Seiwa…" Hikaru wondered if he'd even heard the name before. "Sounds like a long time ago to me…So you were really a princess, huh?"

_**My mother was a consort. I chose to take on her name once I left Kyoto.**_

"Kyoto?"

"Shindo?" Without a warning, Akira materialized beside him. "What about Kyoto?"

"Touya! Oh, it was…" Hikaru trailed off, indicating the television. "They were talking about it a bit. Some kind of…thing."

"…I see." Hikaru colored. "Well, here." Touya handed his rival a card key. "We're on the seventh floor."

"Is it a suite?" he was joking, but then found himself thinking that if it was Touya, then it wasn't impossible. However, the blankness of Akira's expression made him clarify, "Just a joke," and meekly trudge over to the elevator.

_**What is this?**_ This new spirit was clearly enjoying the twenty-first century just as much as Sai had, still mooning over a cellphone that a teenage girl was using. Setsuko was clearly not as limited as Sai had been, able to wander at her leisure any distance from him she so chose. _**Are there little men inside here, too?**_

'_Setsuko, come with me. I don't want you to get lost,'_ he thought at her with a sigh. _'This woman is so exhausting.'_

As the elevator arrived, Setsuko darted over to stare in awe at the opening doors. She stepped right inside, ogling the buttons, marveling at the shape of the carriage, listening to the walls.

_**Hikaru, what's this for? Hikaru?**_

He found himself smiling as he followed Akira into the elevator, unable to shake off the nostalgia. _'Just wait.'_ He pressed the button as the doors slid closed. Setsuko laughed delightedly as the carriage began to move, bouncing up and down until it stopped and the doors slid open.

_**Hikaru, again! Please, once more!**_

'_Sorry, Setsuko-hime.' _His sincerity amazed himself. Her childishness was so like his former spectral companion. _'Not just now.' _He followed Touya out of the elevator, relieved to feel Setsuko trailing after him obediently for a change. After a bit of fuss from the ghost over the card key, Hikaru finally relaxed. He kicked off his shoes, pulled off his backpack, and flopped down on the nearest bed. It was a simple room with two queen sized beds; nothing remotely similar to the suites he was used to seeing his rival stay in. Setsuko immediately moved to marvel at the television set on the wall.

"I'll take the shower first," Touya said, placing his things on the small desk in the corner. "Don't fall asleep before at least washing your face."

"Fine, fine. Just don't use up all the shampoo," Hikaru teased lazily. He couldn't recall lying down ever being so comfortable, even if on the scratchy hotel sheets and semi-lumpy mattress. He stared at the ceiling and tried to think about nothing.

_**Will there be another man in this box? **_Setsuko asked, beaming in his direction. _**How do I see him? …Hikaru?**_

"Hmm?"

_**This is the same kind of picture box as before, right? Can you make the man come out?**_

"Setsuko-hime, wouldn't you rather relax a bit? It's been one hell of a day, and I don't really want to watch the TV." He sat up again, pulling over his backpack. The biwa's wilted strings made pathetic little noises as he tugged it lightly from amongst his belongings.

_**Ah…**_ Phantom feet glided over the carpet. Setsuko sat beside her new companion, reaching in vain for her beloved instrument.

"What's the story with this biwa?" he asked quietly. His hands glided over the wooden body, afraid to apply any pressure to the artifact. "How did you…?" Her expression silenced him. Her face seemed darker than it had a moment ago.

_**I think I'm starting to remember. Yes…It all started with this biwa. **_She tossed her hair in a manner that Hikaru was growing accustomed to. _**I don't think I can really talk about it right now. But if I could…**_ she reached towards Hikaru, and he grew cold as he realized what she was doing.

"Oi, none of that!" He recoiled from her probing presence. "This is _my_ body, all right?" A look that would have been mischievous in good humor froze his blood.

_**I know that your previous apparition friend may have been a good sport about such things, but…**_ she sighed, sagging her shoulders, **…**_**I would just like to play my biwa. Just once?**_ Hands folded to plead childishly.

It was too much. Her sad face from before…

'_I don't want anyone to look like that again.'_ It was a look that Sai had gotten quite frequently before he had vanished. He quietly gave his consent.

"Okay." She clapped her hands and beamed ecstatically. "But!" he interrupted her little celebration, "You only get one song. And if you try anything…_strange,_ I'll never let you do anything like this again. Do you understand me?" The priestess nodded, still giggling with glee. Then she settled back inside his consciousness and he felt his entire body go numb, then cold, then he blacked out for a moment.

'…_mmm…Setsuko? What…'_

_**Sorry, sorry. It takes a bit of getting used to. This is new for me too, you know. **_Her acerbic tongue made him smile. No…he couldn't move his face. It was… _**Calm down. You're panicking a bit. It's throwing off my chi.**_

'_Well then, breathe better! I'm suffocating in here!' _Hearing his own voice make a Setsuko-giggle almost made him nauseous.

Setsuko evened out deep breaths, helping Hikaru steady himself in his own head. He watched from his own eyes as Setsuko picked up the biwa, caressing it like a lover. Her fingers—no, _his_ fingers—ran up and down the strings as if each stroke was a conversation between long-parted friends. Then he watched his fingers tighten the strings, drawing them taut until he was sure they would break.

"Relax," his voice told him. "I know what I'm doing." He couldn't remember ever hearing his voice sound so contented. Setsuko brushed blond bangs out of his eyes, plucking the strings of the biwa with deliberate, tender pulls. When she was satisfied with its tuning, she began to play a gentle song.

'_Oh please, don't sing. I can't sing…' _he pleaded, regretting his decision to allow the phantom control.

"Relax," Setsuko repeated. She used his throat to hum, supplying Hikaru the words through their link. It was a pastoral song, meant to call gentle rains from the mountains. Or maybe it was an abstract love song. Whatever it was, it was beautiful.

The young pro allowed himself to be lost in the words, not even realizing the ending notes of the song, nor Setsuko peeling herself from his body. He was glad that she had thought to lay the biwa off to the side; once her influence was removed from his muscles, they turned to jelly and he fell on his side, forgetting everything except how to breathe for what felt like hours.

'_Why didn't Sai do this in the first place,' _he thought miserably. _'He could have just taken my body whenever he wanted to play. He wouldn't have had to—' _Hikaru broke the thought off. He knew that Setsuko was special, her history as a priestess giving her more control than Sai ever had, but just knowing it was possible…

'_But then again, it wasn't ever his style to do things that way.' _He tried to smile, but his face wouldn't listen; he was still too numb. He wanted to think of his old friend and smile, but a tear slipped down his face instead. He felt Setsuko pressing at his mind, but she too was exhausted by the possession. She faded until Hikaru couldn't tell if she was gone or sleeping.

'_Come back!' _he near wailed. _'Don't you dare…'_He found her, a faint pulse in the deepest recess of his brain. If he was absolutely silent, he could hear her heart next to his, the thrum matching the pull of her fingers on the biwa. That song, too, was beautiful.

* * *

><p><em>My oh my. I am really enjoying writing this story. I hope there's more Go soon. It's really odd writing about Go players that aren't playing Go. I wasn't exactly satisfied with the way this chapter turned out, but Setsuko's character is super fun to write for. I adore sass...<br>__Anyway! Thanks to my reviewers; it really means a lot to me. All of you are lovely, lovely individuals. More to follow very soon!_

_If I'm accidentally vague about any details that you're curious about, just ask. I feel like I should be explaining some things about Setsuko's abilities better, but I'm struggling to find ways to do that without being redundant or boring. The idea for the possession came from the sixth chapter of the manga when Hikaru plays a stone correctly for the first time. The way I read it, he sort of tapped into Sai's experience to "make his fingertips glow" or whatever he was trying to do there. The difference is that Setsuko, who was much more involved in the spiritual during her lifetime, can actually use her will to overpower Hikaru's. When he lets her, really. It's exhausting for the both of them. I couldn't think of how best to explain that-the purpose of this entire chapter-so I quit._

_As for the Saio, you'll have to wait. Setsuko loves being mysterious, so Hikaru's going to research it on his own. It's a real thing, if you're curious. I learned mostly from Wikipedia what it's about and then made up the rest. She is, indeed, a Heiian period spirit like Sai. They didn't know each other, but they were probably related six kinds of ways (so much inbreeding back then). Tachibana-no-Setsuko isn't based on a real Saio though. WOW ENOUGH FROM ME, BACK TO WRITING CHAPTER 5. ttfn~ _

_Disclaimer: Setsuko was my idea! Whoo! Nothing else though. I own no bishies._


	5. Chapter 5

Akira stripped quickly, throwing his dirty kimono onto the floor with complete indifference. He stared at himself in the bathroom mirror for a few moments as the water for his shower heated slowly. He was too red. He was too disheveled. He could see the annoyance in the lines on his forehead. The impatience. The fear.

Shindo had no right to do those things and seemed disinterested in the effect he had on Touya. Unaffected. Touya stared down at his hand—the one Shindo had so carelessly clung to—as if to sterilize it with his glare.

'_I don't understand,' _he thought viciously._ 'I don't understand him or his moods. I don't understand his connection to Sai or my father. I don't understand him. Grabbing me, touching me, acting so…'_

Akira couldn't finish that thought.

'_Ghosts and "Saio" and biwas and sakura…I don't understand at all!'_

Steam began to fog the mirror, and he was glad to have his reflection blur. He couldn't watch himself blush anymore.

'_I don't understand my_self _anymore.' _He wrenched himself out of his thoughts to rush through a shower. The hotel's shampoo smelled nice and the conditioner worked well enough. The soap lathered pleasantly against his skin. He did his best not to think at all up until he heard odd sounds coming from the room.

'_Talking? Who's Shindo…' _Touya broke off to listen more fully, ear pressed against the wall of the shower. He shut off the water in annoyance. _'Music? The biwa…?' _Shindo's voice carried well, though he only seemed to be humming the verses. Akira frowned as he toweled himself off and pulled on a sleeping yukata from the hotel, not bothering to dry his hair before barging back into the room proper. Surely his rival would have mentioned knowing to play the instrument when he picked it up…

He froze when he saw Shindo lying across his bed sideways, his back to Akira. His breathing was loud and heavy. The biwa lay off to the side. It seemed more vibrant in color than it had when they'd come across it earlier that day, though Touya admitted to himself that he hadn't had too good of a look at the wretched thing. He had been far more concerned with the strangeness his rival had been exhibiting at the time.

"Shindo?" he called. There was no response or movement from the other boy.

'_He could just be asleep. Hikaru _has_ been through a lot today,' _Touya reasoned through the frown forming on his face. _'But the playing…' _He turned his glare to the instrument.

The biwa's enamel plating had been fashioned to resemble koi fish, playing beneath the strings. They sparkled in their lovely orange enamel and ivory. Silver and mother-of-pearl inlaid in swirls imitated the flow of water. Though faded and chipped, the colors seemed to sing. Their iridescence and the dim hotel light made them dance. It was calling him. It wanted him to touch it.

'_Is this what Shindo meant by the presence he felt?'_ Touya felt stupid for almost accepting a command from an inanimate object, but the longer he studied the biwa, the less idiotic it seemed. _'…Just a touch, right?'_

Akira approached it, wary of that strangeness and very concerned and annoyed and probably six other emotions that he had no name for. He regarded the relic with well-justified suspicion.

'_If I were to touch the thing…' _He covered his mouth with his hand thoughtfully. _'Shindo wanted me to. He thought if I did, I would feel…_it._ Whatever that means…'_

Touya hesitated, about to turn and write off the entire affair, but he steeled himself against the impulse. After all, he finally felt so close to finding at last the answers he had been searching for. He took a small step toward the bed. The feeling emanating from the ancient biwa seemed to have faded compared to earlier in the day. It felt much more benign, almost calm. But it still had an aura that disturbed Akira deeply. Though his hand shook visibly, he reached out and lightly stroked the length of the instrument's body.

Nothing happened.

He looked from the biwa's neck to his hand on its body to the koi pattern at its heart, blinked, and looked back at his hand. He delicately peeled his fingers away.

_Nothing_ had happened.

'_I don't understand,'_ he thought almost angrily. This was supposed to be it: the big revelation. The reason why Shindo mattered to him so much. The reason he was different, special. It was supposed to make all of the questions fit together into a simple answer; spirits and spontaneous history questions, Shuusaku and Sai, Go and Hikaru, and all of the dozens of puzzle pieces that Akira had since been unable to cram together cohesively in the time that he had known his rival.

His father's voice taunted him, '_You would not believe anything I told you.' _Had this been what he'd meant? He stared down at his hand. _'Shindo obviously expected _something_ to happen. I feel even more confused now than I ever have. What in the hell am I missing? It couldn't be something so ridiculous as—'_

And there it was. Touya swallowed, his mouth apparently having become incapable of producing saliva. Had he felt out the truth?

'_Is that what it is? Something so ridiculous I would never believe it? Could it _really_ be the link for all of this?'_ he thought, doing his best to keep the thoughts inside his head. His ears were ringing. It couldn't be. It was impossible. But…

'_Do you believe in ghosts?'_

He sat heavily on the bed near his friend's head. His hand fell on the biwa again, two of the strings twanging dolefully at his touch. He recoiled reflexively, snatching his hand away and clutching it to his chest. So unnerving, the feeling of nothingness…

"I…didn't feel anything. It's just an old biwa," he murmured numbly, staring at his hand. "I really don't understand, Shindo, and I don't think I'm likely to."

A neutral kind of groan escaped his friend's throat.

"Shindo?" He leaned over his friend. Akira felt he was being far too loud. He wiped a solitary tear from his friend's cheek. Hikaru's eyes were blank. Had he really been asleep?

He wasn't moving. He wasn't talking. Akira hated seeing him so still. He hated it intensely. Anger built like fire in his throat. "Are you awake?" he whispered. Hikaru made pointless noises in his mouth.

Akira rolled Hikaru to lie on his back, leaning over him. His expression was a threat. Shindo's eyes remained cloudy, though they seemed to soften slowly.

"What's wrong with you?" Touya demanded in a harsh undertone. "I can't listen if you don't tell me."

"…Just gimme…a second…to breathe…" the words were garbled and slow, but it was progress. Akira grew a bit less livid, pulling back to sit normally in an effort to appear more patient. After a short while, Touya noticed a hand snake up to tug at the fabric of Hikaru's collar. Akira helped loosen the kimono and removed the obi. Shindo relaxed and allowed Touya to remove the dark outer layer, though it had to be yanked out from under the bleach-banged pro with more than a little effort on Akira's part. "Thank you…" was the murmured response.

Hikaru gradually gained enough strength to sit properly without support from Touya.

"I'm not sure if I can explain in any way you'll believe," Hikaru said after Akira moved to sit on his own bed to face his friend. It felt much more natural to be across from him.

"Then just answer my questions," Akira said. "I know you have a lot of things you still aren't ready to tell me, but I feel like I've earned at least this much." He held Hikaru's gaze pointedly. It was his challenging glare. Hikaru's eyes remained soft in response.

"I don't want to lie to you, Touya. Really, I don't. I just…" he trailed off, unable to break eye contact with Touya but unable to bear the glare that shredded his resolve. Akira knew he was close to forcing a response, but…

"Okay," Akira interrupted his own thoughts. Hikaru seemed surprised at the nonchalant response. "I get it—well, I don't really, but you still aren't ready to talk, so just go and shower. We'll play our game before bed."

"Game?"

"I promised to play with you when the _sakura_ bloomed, didn't I?" The smile that spread across Hikaru's face was enough to ease a great deal of Touya's concern. He looked so close to himself then. So much of the light that Akira had grown accustomed to from his rival entered his expression as the boy heartily agreed, grabbing his own pajamas from his backpack and hurrying to the bathroom.

'_I could easily bully the answer from Shindo now, but…'_ he thought, staring at the bathroom door, _'…what if I hurt him this way? He still doesn't seem ready to talk about it for whatever reason. And even worse—'_ a teeth rattling shiver worked its way through Akira's spine '_—what if I can't accept the answer?'_

The idea would never have occurred to him the day before—when he and Hikaru had shared the image of his parents' gentle affection—that something so sinister as what he was beginning to expect could be lurking in Shindo's secrets. It was almost too much for the young pro to handle.

So instead, Touya made use of the hotel's electric kettle and set the horrible biwa to the side, placing his own magnetic Go board at the end of Hikaru's bed. He was just blowing the steam from his teacup as Hikaru emerged from the bathroom wearing his old black jersey and toweling off his hair.

"Tea?" Akira offered, gesturing to the still steaming pot. Any trace of anxiety that had remained on Shindo's face dissolved as he poured himself a cup. "If you don't mind, I wish to be white."

"By all means," Hikaru agreed easily, settling himself on the edge of his bed. Touya set his teacup on Hikaru's nightstand and arranged himself more comfortably. Playing without a proper goban was troublesome, but the two had no trouble once the game got going.

'_He's attacking early.'_ Akira rubbed his jaw as he pondered his hand. _'Our formations are both vulnerable still, so why…'_ His glare cut through Hikaru's next twenty hands instantly. _'A simple response will not do; I will not allow him to gain _sente_ so early in the game.'_ He struck a perfectly balanced play, a counterattack that would de-rail Shindo's gameplay.

The game continued from there. Hikaru played leading hand after leading hand only to be thwarted by his rival's wrench plays. Neither of them could fully get into the rhythm of play, and halfway through _chuban, _there was still no clear victor. 

* * *

><p>"Do you know why our Go is the best?" Hikaru asked after successfully claiming the right side for the third time only to have Touya pincer around the bottom, easily killing a fifth of the stones there.<p>

"Hmm?" Touya scarcely looked up, surveying the board carefully.

"No one can feel the game as well as you can, Touya."

"Well, no one can upset a game as well as you can, Shindo." Touya didn't feel as bitter as he sounded, but it seemed he could somehow sense the overwhelming loss in his near future. Hikaru only smiled at the frustrated face that remained oblivious.

He played the hand that would surely mean victory, forming a broken bridge across the center of the board. He was almost stunned when Touya played the perfect counter, the only path out of Hikaru's trap without even blinking. Hikaru was almost positive that his rival wouldn't be able to spot the way out. It was too uncharacteristic of his usual, methodical gameplay. Hikaru gritted his teeth and threw down a wedge to the bottom formation.

"I still win by six _moku,_ Shindo," Touya sighed. He somehow seemed disappointed to have pulled ahead so easily. "Face it; you were outmatched this time."

"Four games?" Hikaru exclaimed. "I lost four straight games?" Akira actually caught himself on a laugh at that, and Hikaru glared at him. "No, not funny. It is not funny!" He pouted, clearing the black stones huffily. Touya finally couldn't hold it in any longer, laughing in a way Hikaru hadn't seen in a long time.

"Oi, Touya! One more game!" Hikaru called, reclining on his bed and propping himself on his elbow. He unzipped the collar of his jersey.

"Okay, okay," Touya agreed easily, wiping at the corners of his eyes. Chuckles still spilled out the sides of his composure until Hikaru glared at him again. Then Touya fell on his side, his hoarse laughter shaking the entire bed.

"Really, Touya!" Hikaru threw his pillow at his friend. "Knock it off! I'm getting worried, here."

"Sorry, sorry. I'm just a bit…" he rolled to his back, regarding his friend warmly, "…relieved, I guess is the right word."

'_He was that worried?'_ Hikaru thought, feeling distinctly embarrassed.

"Oh! That's right!" A blur of black and Hikaru was crouching beside his backpack, rummaging through it determinedly. He grinned and pulled out a bottle of sake. "I bought this when we got off the bullet train. Wanna drink with me, Touya?"

Akira rolled onto his stomach, looking a bit dazed. "Isn't it a bit too late to be drinking, Shindo?" he asked, yawning for punctuation.

"Touya, most people worry about drinking too early," Hikaru scoffed, rinsing out his teacup and pouring the sake into it. "I wanted to drink it at the festival, but—" He felt his ears go red as he bit off the sentence and downed his entire cup. "See? So don't make me drink alone."

Touya sighed, handing his teacup over. "But not too much. We have to head back to Tokyo tomorrow. It'll be a long day without being hungover." He cleared the magnetic Go set off the bed, setting it gently on the floor and resumed staring at the ceiling from Hikaru's bed.

Touya seemed remarkably familiar with the way Hikaru drank. He wasn't sure if he was amused, flattered, annoyed, or indifferent. He poured himself and Touya fresh cups, dragging the bottle over to sit beside Touya on his bed.

'_Ugh…I'm glad Setsuko's asleep,'_ he thought, sipping the rice wine slowly. He froze, wondering if he jinxed himself, but soon felt her silent snores within his head.

"You should've warmed it a bit," Touya commented, propping himself to sip from his own cup. "It's rather nice, though."

"I wish I would've thought to get some plum wine instead," Hikaru sighed. At Akira's inquisitive glance he added, "It's sweeter. You don't drink much, so you'd probably like it more."

A strange version of Touya's challenging glare greeted Hikaru, and he gulped his sake a bit too fast. Touya was already pouring himself another cup, and Hikaru wordlessly held out his, too. He tried not to cough as the liquor tickled his throat.

"You shouldn't be overly concerned with my preferences," Touya sniffed, shifting himself to sit upright. He sat properly, distancing himself from the conversation. "I'm fine with whatever you care to share with me."

He seemed too proper to Hikaru then. He knew his friend didn't really mean anything by employing his full "young master" persona, but the way he tilted his head to drink, the way he sighed occasionally through his nose, the way raised his chin and looked down the slope of his face…Hikaru resented that. He _knew_ it wasn't completely intentional, but that arrogance that he was only used to seeing from across a goban these days felt too much to handle.

He drained another cup, feeling his face grow warm. Even Touya was touching the hollow of his throat as if marveling at the heat that gathered there. His face alternated between peaceful and haughty too quickly, too easily.

"Hey, Akira?" he asked, leaning back a bit.

"Shindo?" Touya's face was turning the faintest shade of pink, the color of a _sakura_ had a pressing urge to let him know that. He fought the impulse, deciding it was probably something to do with the slumbering priestess' influence on him.

"We're friends, right?" he said instead, wondering if he was about to embarrass himself more than he would have by telling his rival that he looked like a flower petal.

"Mmm," Akira agreed, smiling widely. "Best friends."

Hikaru sniggered, picking up the sake jug. He didn't bother to pour it, just pulling it straight from the bottle. He handed it to Touya who, after a brief inner debate, did the same.

"I'm glad." Deep green eyes closed solemnly for the briefest of moments. When they opened again, the aqua-mint eyes he was used to see glower dangerously were close in front of him, not glaring or glowering, but blazing regardless.

"I'll wait, Hikaru," was his whispery promise. "It might take days, it might take years. But I'll wait for you to be able to tell me all about it. So please…" The eye contact was taking its toll. Hikaru felt himself sweat, but that might have just been the alcohol. "…Please wait for me to be able to listen." Then Touya shook himself gently, almost like a dog, and took another swig of sake.

Hikaru sighed and ruffled Touya's slightly damp hair.

"Oi, Shindo, wha—"

"I know." He smiled at his friend, glad both that he could smile and that Touya was there to be his friend. "I know, so we'll just keep waiting together. Okay?"

Touya flushed even more and tried in vain to correct the damage that Hikaru had done to his hair.

"Shindo, earlier…" he trailed off, pink tingeing his ears and neck. "You held my hand." He looked so troubled, and Hikaru almost cringed.

"My body just sort of…acted. I was a bit dizzy, I guess," he explained, half-honest. Touya still looked confused and uneasy. "I'll explain better later, I promise. But it's way late and you need to sleep now or you'll be completely useless in the morning."

Touya relinquished the sake bottle at Hikaru's insistence and crawled into his own bed almost dejectedly, but it _was_ late and there was a lot of distance between them and Tokyo.

For a moment, Hikaru contemplated crawling in bed beside Touya but shook the idea from his head as soon as he realized exactly what he was thinking.

'_Damn Setsuko, getting in my head like that…'_ he grumbled at her, though she still dozed peacefully. He finished off the sake, throwing the bottle in the waste bin responsibly before falling down horizontally on his bed, barely dragging a pillow under his head before exhaustion took over.

Hikaru got to enjoy the rare sight of his rival wearing sunglasses all through the next morning. The long-haired pro clung to them like nothing Hikaru had ever seen before. During the train ride and the first half of the drive back from Nagoya, Akira would lean his temple to the cool window to try and dispel his probably massive headache and Hikaru again blessed his seeming inability to get hungover.

"It's because we were drinking so damn late," Touya grumbled for the sixth time, trying to mumble under the noise of the car's engine and failing miserably.

"I apologize again, Touya-sama. I forgot that you require so much beauty sleep." The half-hearted punch he received meant more to him than he would have thought.

It was already late afternoon when Shindo dropped his rival off at his house. Akira still had a very visibly intrusive headache. Hikaru carried Touya's bag to his front door and then hesitated as if unsure what was to come next.

"You should come in and at least eat some supper before going back to your apartment," Touya offered feebly, his heart already set on his warm bed and perhaps a liter of water.

"No, but thanks. I'm meeting with my mom and Akari for dinner." He regarded Touya carefully. "Make sure you eat something, yourself. You've got tutoring in the morning, right?"

"Just a bit of instruction at a local amateurs' event," he waved off the responsibility with utmost disregard. "You just make sure you get into top form for your _oteai_ match with Isumi-san on Wednesday. You're still very far behind in your ranking matches, so don't let Isumi-san intimidate you."

"Relax, Touya. I've been studying Chinese kifu for a short while, so a bit of study tomorrow and I should be all right." Touya didn't seem convinced, not that Hikaru could blame him; he'd always had a particular bit of trouble in playing well against Isumi. "I'll study all day tomorrow."

Hikaru couldn't tell if Akira decided it was good enough or if the other pro was just that exhausted, but he let it go with a wave of his hand as he retreated into his family home.

_**What, no kiss goodnight?**_ a familiar voice purred. Hikaru suddenly missed the silence of her sleep. He couldn't recall feeling her so much as stir the entire drive to Tokyo.

'_Dammit, Setsuko! Go back to sleep!'_

He slammed himself into his car, starting up the car and punching it down the street.

_**You injure me. **_Her tone disagreed. _**What now? Where are we going? **_Her yawn took up most of his attention, forcing a yawn from his mouth as well.

'_My mother's house.' _She was too excited for him to handle._ 'Just rest. I'll let you know when we're there.'_ He couldn't bring himself to let the spirit know he had worried about her even the smallest bit.

_**Mmm, I suppose I am still rather drained. **_Her tone was still light enough that Hikaru allowed his concern to fade almost completely. _**I don't suppose you'd allow me control again…?**_

'_Definitely not,' _he replied without pause. _'My body was trashed after you were done. Did you have any idea what you were doing?'_

_**Not really, **_she admitted shamelessly, _**but I think we can figure out the limitations better if we work it out together!**_ The ghost seemed too excited at the prospect of having Hikaru's body.

'_What do you even want with it?'_ he asked. Setsuko paused, searching for the answer in an uncharacteristically reserved manner. _'What business do you still have in the living world?'_

_**I guess I still have something unfinished to see to…?**_

'_Sai didn't have these issues of forgetfulness,' _Hikaru thought. He shook his head. _'Never mind. It's only been a little bit. We still have time to sort you out.' _As he reassured his companion, he wondered to himself if he would be driven mad before anything came to light. 

* * *

><p><em>Well, I'm sorry this chapter's so short, but...well, I don't really have an excuse. Forgive me anyway? :D<br>My reviewers remain wonderful and gorgeous. Much love! Next chapter will be at least 4,500 words just for you guys. Promise! No real questions that I can answer right now, but stay tuned, readers: more to come. Soon!_

_disclaimer: Do I have to say it anymore? _


	6. Chapter 6

Touya couldn't contain his sighs between the mundane instructing and second-rate matches he was providing the amateurs, but this particular tournament had gained a lot of coverage in the years previous due to his presence as a professional tutor. In fact, he was as much of an attraction as the tournament itself if the line of Go-obsessed nobodies in line to play against him was any indication. He was allowed no rest between matches, sometimes even taking on five opponents at a time to make up for the sheer demand to face him. He had yet to be seriously challenged when he was allotted a short break for lunch. He was exhausted regardless.

So when Kurata Gosei approached him just as he was opening his store-bought obento, Akira was unable to suppress a large groan. The man's froglike face bore an unmistakable desire for battle.

"Please, Kurata-sensei, not now. I will accept a friendly match at any time when I am not otherwise occupied." He broke apart his chopsticks for punctuation. "Until then, I look forward to our upcoming match in the Honinbo league." He ate a bite of broiled salmon almost daintily.

"No, no. You misunderstand me, Touya 7-dan." Kurata dragged a young girl from behind him. She had light brown hair that hung low over her face, trailing down past her shoulders. Her eyes were darkened by the accented frown on her face. "This girl is here to challenge you."

Touya regarded her calmly. She was probably only in middle school. She seemed scrawny, but it could have just been that her clothes were too big. A plain green tee shirt and khaki cargo pants sagged around her body. Her fingers twitched occasionally. She looked anywhere but at Touya.

"How does she play?" Akira asked, content to pretend she wasn't there until she personally acknowledged him.

"Well enough. Four stone handicap, perhaps?" His smile turned sly as the girl burned with embarrassment.

"I don't need a handicap against someone like y—!" the girl shouted, startled at her own outburst. She was fuming but still refused to raise her head.

'_Way to throw down a gauntlet,'_ Touya thought, recalling times when even he had been so immature. He finished his lunch quickly.

"Okay," he said, wiping his mouth on the corner of a napkin. He gathered up his garbage and looked directly at the young girl. "I'll face you right now."

Kurata was pleased, but the girl still gave off a violent air. She sat and glared venomously at the surface of the goban.

"I will be white, so play whenever you wish." Touya took the appropriate goke and laid it delicately beside him. _"Onegaishimasu."_

Without a word, the girl slammed a stone at the upper star point. Touya responded quickly but with decorum. He almost laughed at his opponent's intensity within his iron mask. She continued her lightning play with the same ferocity, gritting her teeth at every gentle response from Akira. Though he laid each stone lightly, his play was equally as vicious as hers and she felt it. She trembled, slapping stone after stone, unwilling to break off her initial aggressiveness though she felt it crumble. They had only been playing for about twenty minutes when she broke off, taking time to study the board. She muttered to herself, mile a minute, words completely lost on Touya. He studied her face instead, trying to place the girl into a role he could understand.

'_No make-up, worn-through boys' clothes, unkempt hair, but she's clean and almost seems to be wearing some kind of perfume…'_ He shot a glance at Kurata who still hovered behind her. He was smiling, considering the board thoughtfully. _'Her game is straightforward. She isn't a bad player at all, but there's something missing. Rather, it seems that she hasn't had any formal training…' _He looked back to the board. _'She wants the top and bottom in order to secure at least a third of the center. I let her claim the bottom already, thinking she would spread up gradually, but she doesn't seem to want to do it that way.'_

The girl cracked her knuckles and played a stone while Akira cringed involuntarily. Kurata chuckled to himself. It was a simple peep, not exactly what Touya had been anticipating, but easily countered. Instead, he played a tamer _honte_ steadily, seeming to defend against her invasion. Really, he was waiting. Kurata wouldn't bring just anyone to play against him. This girl had to have some kind of power, and Touya wanted to draw out whatever potential she might have.

"Really?" she whispered. It was so soft, Akira almost doubted that he'd heard it, but then a new onslaught of rapid fighting began. Each white stone that clicked to the board seemed to offend the child personally. The simple peep hadn't only pressed into his territory; it was the beginning of a bridge that threatened to form diagonally into the center, claiming at least half of the board if Touya couldn't stop it within fourteen hands.

'_And this little girl almost had me in this_ semiai_.'_ Touya remained calm, seeing a way out of the problem in four moves, but the girl almost radiated the desire to win. It was a parched kind of need that Akira knew to shy away from. In any event, he broke out of the _semiai_ and cut off the bridge before it became too dangerously formed. A great pincer challenged her in the bottom right and she should have no choice but to resign.

She sat there, staring stupidly at the board. A small sound of protest shook out of her mouth. All of the anger was momentarily dissipated and Touya got a good look at the girl's eyes: ochre with flecks of gold that sparkled in the bright halogen lighting. They darkened considerably as she grumbled, "I have nothing," and flung herself out of the seat and managed to get all the way across the room before Kurata could even protest.

"Sorry about that," the Gosei holder apologized, helping Touya clear the stones. "My niece can be a handful."

"What's her name?" Touya asked as he scooped a handful of white away.

"Ito Yuka. She just recently became an insei."

"Not surprising. She's talented, but…"

"You felt it too, huh?" Kurata laughed heartily. "I thought you might. She's plays a lot like you used to."

"She sticks to the fundamentals well. I'm sure she plays a mean endgame, which is why I cut it off when I did. Besides, she was getting frustrated with _shidougo_." Touya thought hard for a moment. "Do you intend for her to learn from me?"

"She needs an instructor. Your last pupil dropped out of the insei program rather recently, right?"

"A few weeks ago, yes." Touya allowed himself an ironic smile. "He struggled through every step and became frustrated with my methods. He gave me an earful before quitting and leaving the city altogether."

Kurata laughed heartily. "You really seem to attract the hotheads," he chuckled. "So, what do you say, Touya-sensei?"

"Since the great Gosei is asking, how could I refuse?" His sarcasm called another cheery laugh from the older pro.

"I'll hold you to it, Akira-kun!" the man exclaimed. "I'll bring her to your house Friday evening!"

Akira tried to protest, tried to tell the man that he had plans, but he kept his words to himself. He was curious about the girl, even if he had a long-standing ritual of playing his rival on Fridays from lunch till evening, or at least until one of them became too irritated or tired to continue.

Surely Shindo would understand…

* * *

><p>The apartment that Hikaru had recently started renting was small, but it was enough for the young pro. It had worn out, second-hand appliances and furnishings—namely a hideous orange and yellow plaid sofa and his family's old dining table—a beat-up TV set, and the goban his grandfather had gotten for him in the main room. Hikaru kept his modest kifu collection in the bedroom, tucked in his closet and out of the way. Unfortunately, it made digging through them to get to the ones he was looking for extremely difficult.<p>

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" he hissed, fresh papercut already pooling tiny drops of blood. Setsuko giggled delicately in the corner of the room. He snatched up the kifu he had been looking for and did his best not to acknowledge the spirit in the alcove.

"Do you have to be so annoying?" Hikaru demanded, sucking on his damaged finger. The ghost made a motion akin to a shrug. "Geez…of all the ghosts to get attached to…"

_**Don't be like that. I'm helping you study, aren't I?**_

"A great help, that!" Hikaru snapped. "You barely know how to play!"

_**How am I supposed to help that? The priestesses were disinterested by such tedious games. I received no instruction at all once I left the capital.**_ She was pouting again.

"Whatever, just stay quiet while I study."

Hikaru had to admit to himself that he was curious about his new companion, but his career ultimately came first. He was losing confidence with each kifu he laid out on the goban, studying from selected collections that Waya had lent him in exchange for Akari's phone number.

'_She's gonna kill me for that, I just know it,'_ he thought miserably, his concentration completely gone to shit at that point. He kneed the goban and flopped over.

Setsuko was humming to herself and staring out the window. Everything seemed to fascinate her, which was one of the few endearing things about her.

"What is it?" he asked, standing and joining her at the window.

_**The buildings are so tall,**_she crooned, pointing to the cityscape. _**Is it like this everywhere? In the car, everything seemed so green, but here…**_ She shivered, making a face. _**Everything here is gray and miserable.**_

"Should we go to the park, then?" he wondered out loud. Setsuko perked up.

_**Can we? Can we go? I want to play!**_

"Hey! My body, my rules! You can play again when you figure out how to keep my body normal. I don't want to miss a match because I can't walk or something." Setsuko had misbehaved and possessed him while he slept, much to Hikaru's chagrin upon waking to a dizzy and unresponsive body. Her guilty expression made him sigh. "But we can still go to the park." She bounced giddily in place as Hikaru put on his shoes.

On the way to the park, Setsuko had a surprising number of questions prepared about things around her or that she had recalled seeing. Hikaru could barely keep up with all of her excited chatter, but did the best he could to try and explain the world to her.

_**How big is it, really? **_she asked for the third time, craning her head to look at the sky. _**The world seems much bigger now than it did in Saiku.**_

'_Saiku?'_

_**My home as the Saio. It was called the Bamboo Palace. **_Her eyes shone proudly. _**It was a grand palace that housed me and my attendants, as well as the priestesses of the shrine. The days of Saiku were filled with poetry, flowers, sake, and the loveliest of music.**_ She produced her plectrum from within her sleeve.

'_Saio, huh?' _He thought for a moment. _'How did you become the Saio?'_

_**I was chosen, **_she explained. _**There is a ritual to select the Saio with every coronation. The former Saio returns to the capital and an unwed relative to the emperor takes her place in Ise. My brother was made emperor, and I was selected by a divination to replace the former Saio when I was only thirteen.**_

'_How old are you now?' _Hikaru asked, ready to be chastised for impertinence again, but Setsuko remained quiet, as if calculating to herself the passage of time.

_**Twenty-six, **_she answered simply. A cold air surrounded her. _**Unwed, shackled to the title of Saio, and my brother would not call me back to the capital. **_A brief silence, then a giggle and Setsuko regained her characteristic effervescence. _**But the soft, sweet life in Saiku agreed with me. I was only ill one time in my life.**_

'_Setsuko…'_ Hikaru stopped walking, just looking at the spirit. _'How did you die?'_

_**No idea. **_Her grin was strange, but not forced.

'_I see…'_ He felt a bit silly for being so somber when the woman seemingly had no qualms about her past. He started walking again.

_**Hmm?**_ Setsuko paused near a stroller, utterly perplexed by its function until the small child inside burst into tears. _**Oh no! Oh, my word, Hikaru! **_The boy didn't break stride. The toddler was soothed by its mother and Setsuko scurried after her host. _**Did he see me? Was he frightened of me?**_ The notion bothered her until Hikaru's mind was buzzing with anxiety.

'_No one can see you but me, Setsuko,' _he comforted her blandly. She didn't seem convinced, but his effort was enough to make her smile again.

_**Explain 'airplanes' to me again.**_

And the questions continued. Even after Hikaru had reached the park and knotted his fingers in the soft grass, Setsuko interrogated him, starving for knowledge of the world she had never known. He stretched out on the lawn and smiled to himself.

_**What about music, Hikaru? How different is it in this time?**_

"Music has evolved, too. There are many different kinds, but deep down, the core of it hasn't changed." Setsuko kneeled beside him, her expression a maze of concern and doubt. "Don't worry too much. Many people still remember the traditional songs. Just because things have grown and changed doesn't mean that we have abandoned our roots."

* * *

><p>Hikaru swallowed a cold gulp of saliva. He felt horribly nervous, waiting for Isumi to join him at the goban.<p>

_**You should relax, **_Setsuko chastised him. _**This boy is a friend of yours, right? To challenge a friend is the healthiest competition. **_Her eyes lit with passion.

'_Setsuko, I thought you didn't play Go.'_

_**I was thinking of Mahjong, of course! **_Hikaru bristled at her careless laughter, too absorbed in telling her off to notice the dark-haired man take his place across from him. A noise in his opponent's throat called his attention back to the physical world.

"Long time no see," Isumi said almost hesitantly, seeming to test the air between them. Hikaru could only grin at his friend.

"How was China?" he asked, almost surprised at the depth of warmth rising from his gut. All of the nervousness he had felt seemed absurd as he regarded his old friend. "I feel like it's been years since we've played."

Isumi laughed, saying, "It was a lot of fun. Waya and Lei Ping fought all the time, so they both pushed themselves, getting all kinds of strong. And I…" he scratched at his neck, "…got a lot stronger too." His tone tried to be modest, but Hikaru felt himself getting fired up. He grinned at the challenge.

"Don't think for a second that I've just been picking my ass these eight months," he teased. "You won't push me around as easily as you did last time."

With the signal to begin, a rough game spread slowly across the board. The trickle of Isumi's black stones fought with an uncharacteristic tenacity. Hikaru's attacks barely affected Isumi's play, and black fortresses built up steadily in the game's future. Hikaru picked up his fan from beside the goban, squeezing it in his palm. Setsuko materialized to his left, sprouting from the floor. Her long sleeves trailed behind her as she tossed them delicately out of the way. She leaned close to the edge of the board, jingling as her hair ornaments collided.

_**Hikaru, are you winning?**_

He ignored her. He sat horribly disadvantaged at the opening stages of _chuban._ Two of his large knights were about to be split and captured as he responded to an elaborate peep that he hadn't known Isumi to be capable of.

'_He wasn't joking. He's seriously strong.'_ Possibilities flashed before his eyes, leaving even Setsuko slightly dazed. It occurred to an unengaged part of his brain that she hadn't seen him play a game before, but he immediately dismissed all unessential thoughts from his brain. One that couldn't escape him was, _'Would Touya have this kind of trouble with him?'_ He felt himself grow angry, felt his insecurity that he always encountered when he compared himself to his rival.

_**Hikaru!**_ Setsuko shouted. Her presence in his head flared, cutting off his concentration. He blinked, looking at her. A deep frown divided her face. _**You are being horribly inconsiderate to your opponent. Look at yourself!**_

'_Setsuko, not now! I'm in the middle of—'_

_**You told me that this man is your friend, Hikaru. You should be happy to see him grow! Your behavior is shameful and you had better apologize! **_

Hikaru blinked again, unused to such scolding. The spirit was fuming, face a bit pink even through the heavy powder. He allowed himself a small sigh.

'_You're right.'_

His fist loosened around his fan, setting it down. The young pro laughed to himself a bit, almost glad to have someone to chastise him for his thoughts again. He crossed his legs, tired of kneeling formally. It wasn't his style, and he needed to regain his typical gameplay. The frustration had managed to consume him and it devastated his concentration. He shook his head, knocking back the negativity and then he smiled at Isumi.

"You weren't kidding," he said, indicating the game. "You're way stronger than I imagined you could get in such a short time."

Isumi returned his smile with just a hint of irritation. "You didn't take me seriously, did you?" He shrugged. "Well, I suppose I'll just take the win this time. But you'd better give me an honest match next time."

"Oh? Who said you could have this match?" Isumi seemed pleased with the fire behind those words. They only managed to play a few more hands before the break for lunch. As Isumi stood and stretched, Hikaru regarded the board carefully.

"You coming?" his friend asked. Hikaru couldn't tell if he was just being polite or not.

"I'll pass, thanks." He looked up to smile, to reassure his friend that he was actually okay. "I need all the time I can get." Isumi nodded and stepped out, leaving Hikaru alone in the match hall. Well, _almost _alone.

"I don't suppose admitting you were right would solve this?" Hikaru hazarded. Setsuko tossed her head, haughty expression melting into a look of concern.

_**For now, it is enough that you pay adequate attention to this match.**_ Her eyes were distant. _**Play this game, Hikaru. Do not worry about anything else, if only until you finish this game.**_

Hikaru nodded, picking up his fan and replaying the entire game in his head. He was twenty _moku_ behind if Isumi had his way for the rest of _chuban_. He still had three chances to break his current formations, if they continued the way they had. Isumi's new gameplay was the problem.

'_I should have given more effort to studying the Chinese kifu. It's because I took Setsuko to the park, isn't it?' _He sighed, dismissing the thought. It was his own fault, in any event. _'If I pretend to ignore this peep, I can save this knight move from earlier, and I can make a wedge in the upper left. The center is already forfeit, but I can push my bottom territory up to reclaim that bit, and at that point, the peep will have formed a chain, but I can…'_

Setsuko watched quietly, not that Hikaru would have noticed any attempt at interruption. He snapped his fan occasionally, the sound a distinct reminder of the slap of her _bachi_ against her skin. Pulling the plectrum from her sleeve, she struck her hand experimentally. Silence. She shook her hair, and the tinkling of the silver ornaments filled the room. She stared dumbly at the triangular plectrum, feeling its weight in her palm, tracing the ivory of its handle…

Hikaru snapped his fan.

'_I can win by six _moku_ if I don't make a single mistake this way; with that way, I lose by four. That way, I lose by eight. Win by nine. Loss by twelve. Loss by seven. Loss by eight.'_

"Geez…" he grumbled. "I shouldn't have taken this structure so lightly. I should've cut this formation here or here. I—" He bit his tongue to stifle his frustration, remembering Setsuko's words. He couldn't change the stones on the board, he could only take his best route out. So, barring any foreign strategy that he had overlooked, he still had a chance. When Isumi returned, Hikaru placed his stone and play resumed.

"I should apologize," he said quietly. Isumi laid his piece and tapped the clock in a fluid motion. It followed Hikaru's plan perfectly. "This game must be really unsatisfying." A white stone replied in its prepared position.

"Shall we play again after this game?"

_=chk=_

"Not today. I have plans. Also—"

_=chk=_

"—I don't think I could play any better than this today."

Isumi had found the key weak point of the strategy, turning his earlier _watari_ not into a bridge, but a net. His structure was immediately compromised. Isumi had won.

"I resign," he said, bowing his head. "Thanks for the game, Isumi."

"Should we discuss it?" Isumi asked, regarding the bleach-banged boy warily. Hikaru's grin was reply enough.

"Wait for the rematch, Isumi. I promise it'll blow you away."

* * *

><p>The walk home seemed longer with Setsuko trailing behind him. He often stopped to look at her over his shoulder, but her eyes stayed closed and she wordlessly refused to walk any faster. He turned to face her, and she halted, keeping a large distance between them.<p>

'_Setsuko?'_ he called to her. Pedestrian traffic ghosted around her, almost consciously avoiding her. _'If it's about earlier, then we should—'_

_**Keep walking, Hikaru.**_ Her voice was small, almost fragile. _**We shouldn't be discussing this here.**_

Hikaru grumbled, but complied. He took a detour to the park they had been at the day before. The boy plopped down on a bench and beckoned for the spirit to join him.

Her _junihitoe_ billowed at her feet as she took a seat beside him. The light jingle of her hair set him more at ease, though the cold feeling in his stomach seemed to be directly caused by Setsuko's unexpected ire.

"I know that there's a lot that you don't agree with right now," he said, trying to pull an actual conversation from the telling-off he had gotten earlier.

_**Hikaru, why is Touya Akira so important? **_she asked. _**If Isumi-san is a friend of yours, if he is the one you are facing currently, why should it matter what Touya would think of this match?**_

"Touya's my rival. Every game I play is a step towards meeting him on level terms. But…" his hands balled on his knees, "he keeps moving forward, too. It's like I can't quite reach. And every time I stumble in these kinds of matches, he doesn't break his pace. I can feel him getting farther away every time I fall."

Setsuko regarded him with a chilling calm. _**So you mean to say, **_she began icily, _**that every person that isn't Touya is just a stepping stone for you? **_

"Um…yes? I wouldn't say it that way, but—"

She didn't change her face, but Hikaru felt pinpricks in his throat that made his voice give out. _**They don't matter, so long as they fall to your feet and allow you to step on them? Are you happy to treat your **_**friends**_** this way?**_ The stress on that word made Hikaru take a harsh gulp. The small victory at discovering just why she had been upset with him died away as he realized that she was entirely correct. Sure; he had many friends among the pros, but when he faced them across the goban, it was Touya who took precedence in his mind every time.

Setsuko's eyes turned soft, freeing Hikaru from the icy aura she had surrounded him with.

_**There are more people than you can even imagine in this world, Hikaru. Even in my time, in such a small bubble, the Bamboo Palace held more people and feelings than I could comprehend. **_She looked at the sky, smoggy and overcast over the city line. _**All people have as many feelings and dreams as you do. Of course, most probably have more than you do. **_She chuckled lightly, allowing the mood to grow more pleasant. _**To overlook the essence of life in all of the people that surround you is the height of ignorance and the worst of selfishness.**_

"It isn't like that, Setsuko," Hikaru asserted, hating the defensive tone in his voice. "It's not like I look down on them or treat them like they don't have any feelings or whatever, it's just…"

_**Touya Akira…right?**_

Hikaru colored, pushing Setsuko from his thoughts unintentionally. "He's just special to me. It's nothing like _that!"_ he emphasized as he felt her thoughts turn almost lewd. "I swear, you always manage to turn things into _that, _and—"

_**Hikaru?**_ the spirit interrupted. Hikaru sighed, slumping with exhaustion.

"What. What can I do for you now?"

_**Would you mind…getting something for me?**_ She donned a pitiful expression. _**Just something small…**_

"What could a ghost even need?" Hikaru demanded, skeptical.

_**I need a **_**bachi.** She held up her plectrum, folding her hands together. _**You can get one for me, right? Right, Hikaru?**_

The boy laughed raucously, causing several neighboring bystanders to stare. "Look at you, begging like a dog! Aren't you supposed to be a cat?"

_**Please, please , please!**_ Setsuko squealed, clinging to Hikaru's sleeve as he collected himself and stood up.

"Sure, sure. So long as it isn't too expensive."

In his inner thoughts, Hikaru couldn't stop marveling at how absolutely terrifying women could be; frigid and furious in one instant, excitable and bubbly the next. And making demands.

'_Maybe it's just Setsuko who's like that,' _he hoped.

_**Nnn?**_

'_Nothing!'_

* * *

><p>Early on Friday afternoon, Touya had straightened up the main part of his house and prepared the main room for the study session with Kurata-sensei's niece. He puzzled over what the girl might drink, but all he had in the kitchen was a bit of jasmine tea.<p>

'_It will have to do,' _he thought as he set it to brew. _'I guess I'll go shopping…'_ His schedule was so full that he hadn't even had time to ask Shindo about his match against Isumi. The doorbell ringing interrupted his train of thought as he set the tea tray down by the goban. _'Maybe I'll ask Ichikawa-san to make dinner. But then I'll have to give her a lesson in return. When could I—'_

The door opened as he approached it. A young girl stepped through and then slammed it in Kurata-sensei's face. Akira blinked, finding the girl familiar, knowing it _should_ have been Ito Yuka, but this girl…

She wore a skirt that fell above her knee, her light hair was styled and it curled elegantly down her back. She was wearing a school uniform Touya didn't recognize. Only the annoyed expression on her face seemed familiar. She kicked off her shoes.

"Please excuse me," she grumbled, pushing past Akira to enter his house before he could say a word.

Touya hastened to let Kurata-sensei in, completely dumbstruck at the girl's demeanor. And appearance. And…

'_I thought she was twelve or so! And so rude! What on earth…'_

Kurata laughed openly at his baffled expression as he removed his own shoes. "I didn't tell her where we were going until we were already here. So forgive me, but she might be a bit cranky today. Now…" he clapped, "what's for dinner?"

"Eh? I wasn't aware that you planned to dine here."

"Oh? Then shall we order something? We haven't eaten yet."

"Sure. Whatever you would like." Touya felt himself being dragged along at Kurata's pace and he sighed, turning to collect Ito-san from wherever she might have wandered off to. Kurata followed, chattering about food.

"You really shouldn't have expected anything less from this fatass," a rude voice called from the room Touya had prepared earlier. Ito Yuka was sitting cross-legged at the goban, her skirt barely covering her lap. Kurata admonished her with a light swipe to the back of her head.

"You behave yourself. Sit properly and be respectful to Touya-kun." His tone was pleasant. Kurata seemed remarkably patient to Akira. Yuka rearranged herself and glared at Touya as he poured himself a cup of tea.

"Would you like some tea, Ito-san?" he asked politely. She rubbed her head absently and didn't answer. Akira took his seat and sipped at his tea for a moment. "How many stones would you like to start out with?" he asked. She flushed, staring at the surface of the goban.

"Now, now," Kurata tutted as he sat beside the board. "There's no shame in it, Yuka-chan. Touya's a 7-dan. You're barely an insei right now."

"Dan rankings give little indication of absolute skill, Kurata-sensei," Touya said lightly, growing tired of using the same lines. Yuka raised her head. "Ito-san is an insei because that's where her path began. There are amateurs in the world that are even stronger than my father." Kurata made a face but didn't speak.

"If it means you'll play me honestly, then I think I'll take four stones," the girl mumbled, setting her stones on the corner star points.

Play was slow at first. Both players took their time with their moves, recalling the directions of the previous game.

'_She almost memorized my style just from that match,' _Akira noted, impressed with the girl's attention to the game and her level of concentration. Her play was much less intense than it had been at the amateur event, but that was good. He still had that peculiar feeling that there was something missing in her Go._'Her game seemed almost impulsive before, but it wasn't clumsy either. And she's only recently an insei…What is it that I'm not seeing?'_

"I imagine you'll be taking the pro exam this year. How old are you, Ito-san?"

"Sixteen," she answered levelly, playing a stone. _Tsuke._

He attacked the stone. "Do you think you can pass this year?"

"I do." She connected the stone, retreating.

"Do you attend any study sessions or receive direct tutelage currently?" Akira pressed into the black formation at the top right.

"I haven't ever studied Go seriously up until now." Touya blinked at her. Amber eyes closed half-way, regarding his attack. "I suppose you're asking because you want to teach me?"

Akira's head felt too small. It was Shindo all over again. No teacher, no training, no interest…

'_Where do they spawn from? What in hell does this mean?'_ He could almost hear Kurata's grin stretch across his face.

Ito's gaze was fixed on the board. She closed off her territory without bothering to meet his challenge. "Sorry, but I'm rather busy with my schoolwork at the moment."

"Then, this summer—"

"I resign," she interrupted, bearing a look of complete indifference. She stood slowly and adjusted her skirt. "Where's your bathroom?"

"Over here, Yuka-chan." Kurata-sensei pointed her down the hall before rejoining Akira. The young pro was staring stupidly at the goban.

'_There was no reason for her to resign. She was still winning. I hadn't even started my counter attack, but…'_

"Don't worry, Akira-kun." The Gosei sat across from him. "She was just being stubborn. There's no way that girl could have read so far ahead without knowing your style very well." Akira looked at him. "I can't see it, either. You've barely started _chuban_, but any idiot would know that you have the upper hand, even without seeing the game board."

"You let me assume that she was just a child before, didn't you? So that I would underestimate her?"

"Well, I did, but I expected a similar result."

Kurata didn't know just how terrifying some twelve-year-olds could be.

"Who taught her how to play Go?"

"I did a few years ago. She seemed to have the head for it, but she's never been very serious about her playing."

"But she's an insei, right?"

Kurata scratched his chin. "Well, I kind of tricked her into taking the insei test..." Akira twitched.

"But then, why stay with it? Why take the pro exam at all?"

"I moved out of my parents' house," Yuka said blandly, materializing beside her uncle. "I don't have any other skills, and I can stay in the insei program and attend high school at the same time. I could even be a pro and attend any university. It shouldn't be too difficult."

'_Really now, even Hikaru has more tact than this infuriating fool, honestly telling me this. Ito Yuka…'_ Akira couldn't remember the last time he had been so offended._ 'Such rude, selfish reasons. As if professional Go is some kind of joke.'_

"So, that's how it is," Kurata said, his words almost an apology. Kurata Gosei of all people should understand what an insult his niece's intentions were, and then Akira finally understood what had been missing in Ito Yuka's Go.

'_Her game has no spirit at all. She's just placing stones on a board…'_ He bristled as he remembered that Kurata-sensei had compared her play to his, if only in the past.

"I will teach her," Akira said calmly, ignoring the girl's presence entirely, "if she does one thing first." Kurata seemed intrigued rather than put out. "I want Ito-san to meet with Shindo Hikaru."

* * *

><p><em>Sorry this chapter took so damn long to put out. It doesn't make much difference writing longer chapters if it takes twice as long, huh? T-T To be honest, I wasn't so sure about Yuka-chan's character, but I think I've worked it out well enough to be at the very least amusing. The girl's a piece of work. I've already started working on the next chapter, so it shouldn't take as long to get out. I apologize and look forward to the next few chapters.<em>

_Definitely, Waya and Isumi and a few of the other secondary characters will be present in future chapters, though I can't quite address their prevalence in the plot. I do know that Setsuko will gain more and more relevance, but Hikaru won't be playing the biwa anytime soon. He had a certain disposition for playing Go, but Setsuko isn't as fixated on the biwa as Sai was on Go. And that's about all I can safely say about that..._

_In other news, I should have the next chapter out by early next week. I can't say that I'll be regular in my releases after that; I'm going back to school soon and I might not be reliable in my updates, which I'll apologize for now. I hope I can at least stick with one chapter a week though. I'll be updating my profile with some release info every few days. Stay tuned! More to follow shortly..._


	7. Chapter 7

When Touya called to cancel their plans rather last minute, Hikaru felt a bit put out, but accepted it rather easily when he heard the reason. Touya needed a regular student, and this Ito Yuka…

"_I told Kurata-sensei that I wanted her to meet with you before I could agree to teach her," _Touya said over the phone.

"Eh? Why me?"

"_Just meet with her and tell me what your impression of her is. I'll make my decision from there."_

Hikaru sighed. Touya was being unreasonable again, treating Hikaru's time as insignificant. While it was true that he didn't have nearly as many obligations as his rival, Shindo still felt mildly insulted.

"_Please, Hikaru…"_

"Geez…All right then. But you owe me one then, Touya," he replied. "Two, actually, because you promised me a game night."

"_Well, one of them will be your Shuusaku pilgrimage. I already cleared my schedule for that weekend. What do you want for the other?" _The gratitude in his voice was unmistakable. Hikaru felt warm.

_**Trading favors with your friends is contemptible, Hikaru. Give without reservation and the future will be more charitable, **_Setsuko teased airily. The warm feeling vanished.

"Waya and Isumi are going to be at my place this Saturday for some Go and fun. You should come, too. It'll be…" He was distracted by the knowing smile that Setsuko was getting.

"…_fun?" _Touya finished for him. Hikaru could hear the sarcastic smile growing through the phone line.

"Yeah, Touya. Fun. So you should be there." He shouldn't be so embarrassed. He shouldn't be holding his breath for Touya's answer. He could feel Setsuko's mirth. Red stained lips pressed together to contain it, but it spilled out in his mind. Hikaru's neck grew unbearably hot.

"_I won't be free until late that night. About ten-thirty, I expect. Is that okay?"_

"Yeah, that's fine." Hikaru grimaced as Setsuko crooned victoriously in his head. "I'll see you then, Touya."

_"Yeah. Goodbye."_

Hikaru snapped his phone shut and glared at Setsuko. "You know, I've been horribly nice to you these past few days. It took hours to find this, you know," he pulled out the _bachi_ he had bought for the ghost. It had taken hours of hunting through antique shops and music stores to find one that the spirit deemed suitable. Not to mention it was worth more than his groceries for two months. "And I let you play yesterday."

_**Well, you wanted to make sure it was worth it, didn't you?**_ Her voice was calm, content. _**The plectrum is a masterpiece, as exquisite as the biwa.**_

Hikaru could hardly disagree. The _bachi_ he had finally found in a back-alley antique mall was handcrafted boxwood with a handle inlaid with mother-of-pearl. It almost matched the biwa, but even Hikaru could see the difference in design and in the form of the wood. Still, the biwa sounded so much more meaningful when played with a plectrum. He understood as soon as he heard just why Setsuko had needed to have one so badly.

Gathering his begrudged agreement, Setsuko asked, _**Can I play again tonight?**_

"Only if you promise to behave yourself tomorrow. None of your dirty jokes about Touya, no distracting me from my games, and absolutely no taking over my body. Okay?"

…_**Yes, I'll behave myself,**_ she murmured obediently after only the slightest pause.

"I mean it, Setsuko. If you want to keep playing, you have to listen to me."

_**You have my word, then.**_ She bowed her head and Hikaru accepted that as a promise though the mirth hadn't quite faded from her face.

"I suppose I'll have to expect a call from Kurata-sensei," he groaned. The man had become insufferable since winning his first title. He sighed and resigned himself to the idea. "Should I e-mail him?" His frustration grew as he wondered exactly what Touya was trying to do by making him meet with this girl.

'_I swear, if this is some elaborate plot to set me up with her, I will never talk to him again.'_

_**Really, Hikaru, **_Setsuko admonished lightly. _**I doubt Touya-san would go to the trouble of making you unavailable.**_

"That's it! You're not playing at all tonight!" Hikaru exclaimed. Setsuko gaped at him.

_**No! Hikaru, please? I didn't mean it! It was only a joke! Hikaruuuuuu!**_

Hikaru was forced to smile.

* * *

><p>Ogata Seiji ground his cigarette filter between his teeth. Facing off against Zama Oza in the third round of the Meijin league was his own bad luck, but he could not forgive himself for the state of his game. At least, that was what Akira could gather from his expression.<p>

Ogata was taking a break away from the board to think better about the last stretch of the game, and Touya knew better than to approach the man as he glared clouds down from the sky. With so much at stake, there was no one he could think of brave enough to risk disrupting Ogata 10-dan's concentration; a loss at this point wouldn't mean a great blow to either player, but Ogata's pride would not allow him to lose to the arrogant, condescending Zama Oza.

So Akira only watched as his friend chewed his cigarette, counting the number of breaths it took for him to straighten his glasses and return to the game. He only made it to sixteen before Ogata turned pointedly to look at him, as if he had been aware of the young man's presence from the start.

"I have something to discuss with you. Will you wait in the study room for me to finish this game?" he asked, stabbing out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray.

"Of course," Akira answered with only the briefest of pauses. He didn't feel any particular apprehension regarding his oldest friend, but he was wary of his current temper. "But I do have another obligation this evening," he added, hoping that Ogata wasn't just looking for someone to drink with.

'_Never again,'_ Touya thought fervently, dismissing the memory before it could take root in his thoughts.

"I'll drop you off," Ogata offered without pursuing the tangent. Akira found himself wondering what Ogata thought he would be doing so late at night. The sun had already set completely. "It won't take very long."

"In that case, I would be much obliged, Ogata-san." He gave a slight bow. Never would it be said that the son of the former Meijin had lost his manners. Ogata ruffled his hair and set off to return to his match, leaving Akira staring after him.

Ogata 10-dan's victory was close, but decisive. Zama Oza was left gnawing furiously on the end of his fan throughout _yose_ and into the final count, but he still managed to congratulate Ogata with as much grace as he could muster.

"Hopefully I'll be able to play that well when I challenge for the Oza title," Ogata half-joked to a reporter after he joined Touya in the study room.

"Touya-san, would you mind if we printed your remarks about this match?" the reporter asked, enthusiasm spilling through the words.

"By all means," Akira said humbly. He really didn't particularly like dealing with reporters. His father was much better at it than Touya ever was. It wasn't that he felt nervous about being a part of the industry, but he would rather his Go speak for itself. The game was much more direct than his words at any rate.

"Shall we?" Ogata asked, holding the door open. Touya gladly took his leave. They were inside Ogata's flashy red car before the man spoke again. "I've seen Kurata recently, and he mentioned something about a new student of yours?" His tone was neutral.

Akira couldn't suppress a sigh.

'_Kurata-sensei…The man gossips like an old woman.'_

"Nothing's official yet, but I am considering tutoring an insei for the pro exam."

"A girl, right? Pretty close to your age?" The question struck Akira, but his friend's face was fixed on the road, his eyes following the surrounding traffic.

"Yes, that's right."

The car reached a red light and Ogata turned to regard him sternly. "I'll say this now," he said calmly, glasses glinting from the lights on the street. "Women are a lot easier to offend than men. You watch yourself, all right? You have quite the reputation for your teaching methods. I'm warning you: take it easy on this girl."

"Don't you worry about her," Touya retorted, a hint of sarcasm coloring the smile growing on his face. "This girl is much tougher than my last student."

'_What was his name again? …Shinohara-san? …Yamashita-san?'_ Akira couldn't remember. It somehow didn't seem to matter anymore. Touya actually found himself surprised when he remembered just how upset he had been over losing such a pupil. The light turned green and Ogata sped off down the street.

"Just be mindful, Akira-kun. Girls get their feelings hurt much more easily than boys do."

"…You went out of your way to tell me something like that?" Akira asked, more suspicious than insulted.

"Well, I wanted to congratulate you on getting a new student. Or maybe apologize for Kurata Gosei's behavior on behalf of my generation…" He chuckled to himself. "Really, to be so mindlessly selfish…"

"You know, Ogata-san, I'm a part of that generation, too." Touya felt himself becoming too serious for their current discussion but he didn't care. "If you keep treating me like a child, one day I'll completely overwhelm you."

Ogata allowed for a long silence before replying, "I haven't treated you like a child for a long time, now." His voice was almost cold.

* * *

><p>"Isumi, you can't let him kick your ass like that!" Waya whined from his seat beside the goban.<p>

"Shut up, Waya. I already destroyed you three times."

They had been playing speed Go for hours, switching whenever they felt like rather than by losses. They were each playing impressively, but Hikaru continued to be astounded by Isumi's strength. He finally had the dark-haired man pinned down and countering move-for-move in the beginning of _yose_. Isumi could only hope for Hikaru to make a mistake somewhere, but he never found an opening. Hikaru won by sixteen _moku_.

"Gotcha!" Hikaru crowed as he put down the last stone. They didn't need to move the stones to know the score. "Flawless victory!"

"Shut up and move, Hikaru! It's my turn to knock Isumi around!" Waya shouted, helping Isumi clear the board and shoving Hikaru out of the way. "_Nigiri_, bitch!" Isumi laughed and their game began.

There was a knock at the door after a short while, and Hikaru jumped up to answer it happily. When he opened the door and saw Touya standing there awkwardly, he heaved a fake sigh and said, "Just Touya? I thought our food was here." Waya laughed loudly.

"Very funny, Shindo," Touya sniffed as he shoved past his friend to get inside. "Good evening, Isumi. Waya." He nodded to each of them.

"Touya," Isumi greeted him with a small wave, concentration on the game he was playing. Waya didn't even look up.

"Speed Go. We've been rotating out. Isumi and Waya wanna play a different style that they learned about in China, but we needed a fourth person. And now you're here!" Hikaru knew he was talking too quickly, too enthusiastically, but he didn't care. Even if Setsuko made fun of him for it, he was glad to see his friend. She'd remained a languid observer for much of the evening, but even with her promise from the night before, Hikaru couldn't trust her to remain quiet with Touya present.

"Sorry to make you wait so long. Ogata-san had his Meijin League match against Zama Oza. I watched most of it. Ogata-san won by four _moku._"

"Zama Oza's in the Meijin League this year?" Hikaru asked. They sat beside the goban and watched Isumi and Waya play a particularly passionate game.

"Yeah. His next match will be against me." Touya frowned. "I've only faced him twice since my beginner-dan match against him. I almost won the first time but he floored me in the second match. He really knows how to hold a grudge."

"I wouldn't worry too much, then. He'll be as cocky as ever. I don't see him moving too far up in the league. Ogata, though..." Hikaru trailed off as Waya made a particularly insightful move. "The Meijin will really have to watch out for him."

"Don't worry too much about that. The Meijin may be rather old, but he's as vicious as ever." Touya smiled as Waya's clever trap was completely taken apart. "He never quite forgave himself for losing the Kisei title to Ogata-san."

"It's gotta be hard on him," Hikaru agreed, "but it's a part of the game. Winning a title is easy; defending it is the worst."

"Say that after you actually get past the prelims, Shindo," Waya snapped. "I resign, you son of a bitch."

Isumi held up his hands with a grin. "We can settle the score later. But first, I want to show Shindo and Touya the game we learned. Now, Shindo, bring over that other goban and come sit on the floor." He pointed and Hikaru complied, fetching a slightly older, dirtier board from where it sat in the corner of the room; it most likely belonged to Waya. He made to sit next to Isumi, but the older man waved him to the other side of the board. Waya sat across from him.

"This is another way to team-play. Touya, sit next to Shindo. You two are on a team against me and Waya. Play goes like this." He took the both bowls of black stones and placed them between him and Waya. "We all play every other move on both boards. So Waya and I both play a black stone on our own boards and then we switch boards, he plays on mine and I play on his. At the same time, you and Shindo alternate playing the same way. It's a game of flow and knowing your teammate's strategies."

"You two probably play against each other at least as much as I play with Isumi. It's fair enough without a handicap," Waya added. "It's hard finding people who can match us well with these rules."

Hikaru felt himself grow excited. This was his specialty. Feeling his rival's intentions and reading ahead…

'_Touya himself doesn't even know his Go as well as I do,'_ he thought. He glanced at his rival eagerly, surprised to find him returning his gaze. His expression was a question.

"Sounds fun, right Touya?" Hikaru asked happily.

"Yes, it seems like a good exercise," Touya said slowly, still regarding Hikaru thoughtfully. "Shall we begin, then?"

"All right then. _Onegaishimasu,_" Isumi said. The other three followed suit and two black stones touched their respective boards at the same time. White followed along a bit more hesitantly.

_**I see. You have to match Touya's skill level now, right?**_ Setsuko asked. Her voice was almost a distraction, but Hikaru was quickly learning how to compartmentalize his mind into concentration and conversation, something he had never had to do with Sai. But then, Sai had always shown proper respect for the game.

'_More like he's matching me, right now. At least that's how it is on his board,'_ he answered, looking the board over quickly._ 'On mine…'_

He looked at the disaster as Akira laid a white stone directly in front of him.

'_What the hell is that, Touya?'_ he thought furiously for the third time in as many moves. He exhaled slowly and the others slowed their play to wait as he tried to concentrate.

'_Touya's board is rather straightforward play at this point. Touya made it easier for me to play over there by matching what I would have done…well, for the most part.'_ He couldn't admit that Touya had improved on strategies that Hikaru would have employed in the same situation. _'Does Touya understand my Go better than me? Shit! No, focusing…dammit. This board…'_

In front of him was a disaster. Black had several strong formations on both sides of the board. White's shapes were full of false or broken eyes that wouldn't count for territory unless salvaged somehow.

'_But by playing there…Touya, you're never that reckless. What on Earth are you seeing there that I'm not?'_ Hikaru chewed his lip, wishing he had brought his fan. He hadn't thought he would need to concentrate so much just playing for fun with his friends.

"Shindo, you're clogging everything right now. Hurry it up!" Waya complained. Hikaru set his jaw and took a last, desperate look at the board.

'_If that's really what you want to do there, Touya…God, just don't be mad at me for this.'_ He followed Touya's play with a large knight, opening towards the bottom left.

'_It's a mistake. It has to be wrong. Touya, what are you thinking?'_ He found that the game in front of Touya was following his predictions exactly, as if responding to his whim alone. He leaned over his rival to play an easy, logical move before returning to his own board to find himself faced with his large knight turned into a butterfly move, stones spaced out and vulnerable, but there was potential. Of course, black was already flanking it at the bottom left, and a promise lurked of a horrible battle in the left.

It looked more and more like a game of _shidougo, _black stones tolerating and supporting all of their play up to that point, which it might have been. But it shouldn't have come to that. Even if it was a foreign set of rules, Hikaru couldn't accept that he and Akira could be toyed with so obviously.

Hikaru couldn't tell if he was ashamed of his inability to match his rival or angry that Touya seemed to be playing so uncharacteristically on purpose. He slapped down a white stone to challenge the flank, almost disgusted with himself. His only hope was that it didn't show on his face. A few more hands passed. On Touya's board, Hikaru had gotten tangled in playing in the top right while Touya ignored it entirely, challenging black in the center. But on Hikaru's board…

White was messy, splayed out in stupid, pointless groups all across the board. Touya's expression never changed, but he kept making strange and even pathetic moves that didn't seem to correlate to the battles that Hikaru was managing solo. It was almost infuriating. He felt the creases form on his face and hoped that the others were too busy looking at the boards to notice how utterly violent he was becoming. It did show as his attacks became more ferocious and desperate, sacrificing integrity for territory with each stone played.

'_What the hell are you thinking?' _The thought was a blade that Setsuko flinched at.

_**Hikaru, you shouldn't be so hard on Touya. Or on yourself.**_ Another easy play on Touya's board. And back to his own… _**Really now, you've only just learned the rules of this game. You're taking it too seriously…Hikaru?**_ But the boy wasn't listening.

'_Was he just making fun of me?' _Hikaru wondered, blinking at what could have been another senseless mistake by Touya. Hikaru had been pressing the bottom left and black had responded to Hikaru's challenge by flanking on the other side, but Touya…

Touya had connected the useless groups into a chain in two places seemingly at the same time. He blinked a few more times as he replayed what must have happened, still almost unable to believe it. Hikaru had somehow managed to connect at one end without even noticing it during his previous turn. Isumi hadn't seen it at the time, so he hadn't responded correctly, thinking that Hikaru's play was completely separate from Touya's—admittedly, it had been at the time. Touya was able to forge such a complex shape because of Hikaru's aggressive, distracting play. It was so simple, but in just one slice that Hikaru could easily set up, Touya would cut off a large section of black and form a respectable group on the right. There was still no hope of winning, but no one could look at that game and call it lousy Go. Chaotic, perhaps, but not inferior. Hikaru knew he should feel proud of the game, but instead he was angry. He felt deeply insulted.

_**Hikaru?**_

He ignored her and slapped down a stone.

A smug grin on Waya's face fell to as pieces he saw at the new formation.

"Shall we call it a draw, then?" Touya asked, looking rather smug himself as he indicated the obvious win on the board in front of him.

Isumi laughed quietly and nodded. "That's perhaps the most interesting game I've ever seen," he added as he began separating the stones.

"I'll say," Hikaru sniffed, swiping the white stones in front of him into their goke.

"It was fun though, right?" Touya teased. Hikaru tried to enjoy the clinking of the stones sliding over each other rather than indulge a pressing urge to strangle his friend. "Would you like a game, Shindo?"

He accepted gladly, ready to pay back Touya for his rude play. He was completely dominated to the point of trembling with anger and frustration. He felt Setsuko pressing her way into his thoughts but he blocked her with every last scrap of his willpower.

"Again?" Touya asked with a hesitance in his voice that made Hikaru look up. Mint eyes were soft with unspoken apology. Hikaru sighed deeply and began clearing the board, shedding all of his pent-up anger with the breath.

"Again," he agreed. They played game after game until it well past two AM.

"I really should be getting home," Touya announced, rising stiffly from the goban. "I'll phone a taxi, I suppose. The last train left ages ago."

He left the room to make the call.

"Isumi," Hikaru began as they cleared the floor where Hikaru would be sleeping, "did you see what Touya's plan was during the team game?"

"Hmm?" The older pro set his goban in the corner of the room atop Waya's. "I thought he was distracted by the structure of the game. I didn't think it was possible for him to work out such effective strategies on both boards at once."

"What? I was steering the other board!"

Isumi gave him a look of piteous doubt. "Shindo, Touya was the one who turned your plays into good moves. It was easy for you to play that game because Touya knows how you intuitively play…no, it was more like he could anticipate exactly where you would respond to his moves. He controlled every aspect of black's strategy in that game."

Numbness crept through Hikaru's fingers and froze his body.

* * *

><p><em>I'm sorry for the wait. I moved into my dorm last week and haven't had the time to finish up the chapter properly, but it's already been two weeks and I wanted to get an update out to you. The last part of the chapter was supposed to be Yuka and Hikaru meeting up, but that'll be at the beginning of chapter 8 now. I'd apologize for another paragraph or so, but it'd be boring and I love you too much for that. More soon. (I want to promise "really soon" but I haven't been doing too well with that kind of thing.) Reviewers: you alight my soul with your loveliness. Let me address you better~<em>

_It always really bothered me when Hikaru would use his opponents to judge his relative distance to Touya, but it really is rather endearing in its own way. Setsuko definitely doesn't agree with that kind of thought pattern due mostly to her past experiences that she's now slowly beginning to remember (so look forward to that; I've no idea how to set it up, but her backstory is wonderfully depressing)._

_Yuka-chan! Yuka is a comparatively shallow character when you put her in a spectrum with the characters from the series, but this isn't a bad thing. It's actually kind of amusing how normal she really is. I would describe her as intelligent, bossy, lazy, blunt, and very honest (she despises hypocrisy and bullshit). She can be arrogant and annoying at times, but she's basically a good person...when she wants to be._

_Spelling and shit! - Well, I spell Touya and Kouyo with the u's in them, but Shindo without it. Why? Dunno. I suppose I found it aesthetically pleasing at the time and now I can't really change it without feeling strange. That being said, I switched Ouza for Oza. Sometimes 'Ouza' looks better, but other times-especially recently-I can't stop staring at it like it's a glaring typo. And it makes me try to read it as 'Uuza' in my head. So I switched. I didn't edit previous chapters even though I know I used it at least once._

_Til next time, I suppose; thanks for reading!_


	8. Chapter 8

Hikaru did his best to evaluate the girl. Her eyes were unfocused and still as her lips fluttered over half-spoken words. She was murmuring sequence after sequence of possibilities, numbers rolling off her tongue into the palm she held in front of her mouth. She could have been counting if not for the way her nose crinkled in disgust when she began a new sequence. She could have been pretty if not for that revolted expression.

'_She hates the game,'_ Hikaru told Setsuko ruefully, remembering his initial aversion to Go, the way it had so upset Sai. He felt a phantasm of sympathy for his departed friend that he couldn't quite hide from Setsuko, not that he much minded at that point. The spirit knew most of the conscious thoughts and feelings he'd had since meeting her, and she knew most everything about Sai.

She smiled faintly from where she sat behind Yuka, her thoughts tickling his psyche. _**The fat man seems to enjoy watching her play,**_ she noted, nodding towards Kurata where he sat beside the board. His face radiated amusement and perhaps pride at his niece's determination. Spectral fingers tightened over the ivory handle of the bachi in Setsuko's lap as she too watched Yuka play.

"Yuka-chan, why not stop here?" Hikaru offered after a few agonizing minutes of her muttering.

"Do you surrender then?" she demanded, shooting him a brief glare before resuming her furious muttering. Hikaru tried not to laugh.

'_I really don't get her at all,' _he commented as she surveyed the board again. _'I'll bet Touya was confused too. He must've had her come here so I could figure her out.'_

_**I don't think that's it,**_ Setsuko disagreed before Hikaru could start gloating. He looked at her for just a moment before returning his attention to the girl. _**Just watch her: you say she hates the game, yes? But she's still doing all she can to at least play impressively. You have already complimented her a few times now.**_

'_I guess so. She's a strong player, but…'_ the biggest mystery of the girl was this uneasiness he felt; the hesitation when he considered her playing. He couldn't feel her potential or even her current skill level. _'Her Go is strong, but…'_

_**It's "pride,"**_ Setsuko adopted an uncharacteristic pedantic tone as Hikaru blinked at her. _**The reason she plays so powerfully though she claims to feel nothing for the game. She has pride in her play; or rather, she has pride in all that she does well. She enjoys being a good player, which neither you nor Touya can experience because you can only defeat her. I'm sure she would take pleasure in a game that she was winning.**_

'_But then why…?' _Green eyes blinked. That still wouldn't explain the uneasiness that the girl's Go caused him. _'Even with her pride, her Go is so rough and incomplete. It's almost—'_

_**Empty? **_Setsuko frowned as she stood with the full grace of a lady of the Heian court. _**That's why Touya had her meet with you, isn't it? **_

'_Is that it, then? But why…?'_

_**He must see something in you that he wants Yuka-chan to possess. Something more…**_ her face twisted into a mocking smile, _**…passionate?**_

Hikaru cleared his throat loudly to try to drown out the spirit's giggles. "Yuka-chan." The girl lowered the hand that had covered her mouth. "Touya only told me a little bit about you. You're only playing Go to become a pro, right?"

"That's right," Yuka answered, chin lifting slightly. Defensively.

"And you say you're going to pass the exam this year?" He allowed a touch of mockery to enter his voice. Yuka's jaw clenched as he leaned over the goban. "Prove it," he hissed with a grin. Yuka colored at the challenge, slapping a stone down to connect her groups in the bottom left. Setsuko hid a smile behind her bachi as she moved to stand behind Hikaru.

"Are you going to win this game?" Hikaru asked as he captured a stone near the periphery of the new structure. Yuka made a frustrated noise in her throat.

"No," she admitted tersely. "You've been a pro for years."

"Well, you've been playing for much longer than I have." The room grew terribly still as both Kurata and Yuka blinked at the young pro in complete astonishment. "How else could you play so well without any attachment for the game?" Setsuko smiled at her host's rare moment of insight.

"I grew up playing," the girl admitted in a grumble, retreating from white's attack.

'_Like Touya,' _Hikaru told Setsuko. The ghost nodded, tracing her fingertips over the ivory of her plectrum. _'He probably knew that just from looking at her, though.' _His thumb skimmed over the indent in his middle fingernail.

"Why only come into the insei program now? Surely you could've started training earlier; you could have been plenty prepared for the pro exam by now."

"No special reason." Yuka was glaring right at the spot that Hikaru was about to play in, probably without even realizing she was doing it. He smirked and played his stone at the opposite side of the board, almost laughing at the shock on her face.

'_She has an amazing feel for the game. She probably felt out my next ten moves; maybe even more,' _he thought for Setsuko's benefit. The spirit nodded, but she was only watching the girl. She didn't even glance at the battle between them.

_**There is something…Hikaru? What if this game…what if she isn't empty?**_

Hikaru shot an inquisitive glance her way but Setsuko was still staring straight at Yuka. _'I don't—' _He looked back at the girl, trying to think. Setsuko's confidence filled his mind and he knew she was right, but what could that mean?

'_Okay. Let's say that she _does_ have some passion for the game. Why would she go to such lengths to hide it? It's only holding her back to not use her full potential. What is she hiding? It couldn't be—' _Hikaru looked her over one more time. _'There's no way…It wouldn't be something like _that…_right, Setsuko?'_

_**No, it isn't another spirit. Not so far as I can tell at any rate. **_Hikaru couldn't contain all of the disappointment he felt at that. He thought that he'd finally found someone he could talk to about his situation._** Why not just ask her? I'm not sure it's such a big secret. If it's someone like you…**_

'_What're you…'_ Setsuko looked pointedly at Kurata and Hikaru felt that he understood.

"Kurata-sensei?" The frog of a man blinked at him. "If there's something you'd rather attend to, I don't think I'll be done with your niece anytime soon. I can drive her back once we're through."

"No, I think I'd rather stay. I'd like to see just what Touya-kun was thinking, sending us all the way over here," the Gosei replied.

_**He's impossible!**_ Setsuko exclaimed, near-outraged at his severe tactlessness.

'_Now, now…'_

"I'm terribly sorry, but I think you might be distracting Yuka-chan." The girl bristled so far that even Kurata noticed. Hikaru winked at him casually and Kurata caught on enough to play along.

"In that case, I'll leave it to her to direct you to her house. I'll see you later, Yuka-chan!" Kurata winked back clumsily as he walked out the door. Hikaru couldn't suppress a sigh at his antics. Yuka scowled at him.

"Now then…" He looked at Yuka expectantly. She still scowled, hand half-covering her lips. She had stopped counting. "What aren't you telling me?"

She blinked. "Plenty, Shindo Hikaru. But why don't you tell me: why would Touya Akira care at all about what you have to say? You don't even compare." Hikaru stiffened but said nothing. "Why would he tell you to evaluate my skill when you're nowhere near his level?" Her glare was supposed to be horrible. It was supposed to cut Hikaru's pride apart and mangle the pieces, but all he felt was a hint of pity. That was truly how she saw Akira's Go: as an insurmountable force.

'_He wasn't even playing her seriously it's almost as if…'_ He let the thought die as he realized another key point of Yuka's character. _'She seriously looked at his Go after their first game. It was only shidougo then, but she actually dug out his kifu and _looked _at it. And she understood it, all on her own…'_

"You've seen it, then?" Hikaru asked quietly. Yuka didn't let her glare diminish. "Touya Akira's skill?" Hikaru shook his head. "Then you should know that he doesn't have to waste himself on players as weak as _you._" Setsuko looked at him briefly. Yuka burned red.

"Just what gives you the _right—"_

Hikaru stood and drifted back to his room where kifu still littered the floor. He pulled out one hand-copied volume that he had transcribed himself and returned to the goban, dropping it at Yuka's side. She picked it up almost disdainfully, flipping through without interest.

"I don't know what you've seen of Touya's Go, but those are the games that Touya played against _me."_

"All these…" She opened a random page near the end, one that Hikaru had won. She studied it for a moment before looking back to the game she was currently playing. "You were just—"

"You learn well. Kurata-sensei said that you played a lot like Touya used to. He still would have floored you back then, but you do have some of his tendencies. I think that's just because you've drowned yourself in studying his kifu." Hikaru sighed, wondering just what he was supposed to tell Touya out of all that he learned. "Just one thing, though…One thing I can't quite figure out…" He stared at her, amused that she now shrank back slightly from his gaze. "Where is _your_ Go? Don't you like to play?"

Yuka bit her lip, dropping their eye contact to look back at the kifu. Hikaru knelt again, glancing at the unfinished game on the goban.

"I'm nowhere near proud of this, but…" she measured Hikaru up quickly before taking a large breath, "…all I want is to keep playing." She stared at the kifu in her lap. "I know I don't play very well, but by copying Touya Akira, I can at least look strong. And my uncle…he recognizes enough to compare us, but…" she closed the book and set it down beside her, "…I can't get any stronger by myself. But my uncle…" a reluctant smile, "…he always did his best to make sure I never stopped playing. I pretend that he's a nuisance, that he _forces_it on me, but no one else even would even listen when I tried to tell them I liked it, so I'm—" Yuka cleared her throat and put on a determined glare. "I'm leaving home and becoming a professional Go player. But if my parents knew how serious I was about this…there's no way they would allow they're precious daughter to end up corrupted by my father's whimsical brother. He's such a joke to them…"

Hikaru was touched to see Yuka so upset over someone like Kurata. It was more than enough for him. He wondered just how much would convince Touya.

_**You can't tell him very much of this, Hikaru. The girl has earned some discretion on your part. More than some. Hikaru?**_

"If all I have to do is convince _you_ that I'm serious about this, then please…"

"Don't worry, Yuka." Hikaru smiled at the girl. "I won't tell him anything you don't want me to. But you have to promise me one thing." She tilted her head, eyes wide. "When you play with me, we play honestly. No shidougo, no imitations. Okay?"

"You mean, you'll tutor me too?"

"Of course not," he said with a grin. Yuka blinked. "We'll play just for fun. Whenever you want. Well, anytime that you want that I'm free…Well, not _any_ time. There should be some limit…" Yuka was surprised into laughing, and Hikaru's grin softened into a friendly smile. "Trust me; with Touya teaching you, you're going to need all the fun you can get."

* * *

><p>Touya was not amused. Hikaru had insisted on a match before they could discuss anything and proceeded to play a frustratingly straightforward game that Touya lost by no small margin, most likely due to the fact that he kept searching for elaborate hidden meanings in the flow of the stones.<p>

"That's it?"

"Teach her, Touya. She's worth it, I promise."

"That's all you have to say to me?"

"For now, yeah. I dunno what you saw in her, but I promise it's real. She can be really strong, Touya."

Shindo had that stupid expression on his face. It was the expression that let Akira know exactly when his friend was about to get away with being completely unreasonable. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm holding you personally responsible for each headache this causes me, Shindo. I hope you know what you're talking about."

"What exactly _did _you see in her, Touya?" Shindo asked, eyes bright and hopeful. Akira smiled at the sight; it shouldn't have been so unfamiliar, but Hikaru's strange depression finally seemed to have lifted. "Touya? What was it that made you send her to me?"

"Just some small things that didn't add up, really," Akira ventured, crossing his arms. "The way she touched the stones. A look she got in her eyes sometimes. And that bizarre counting of hers." He shrugged. "I figured she was lying about at least some of her story. And people seem to trust you."

'_Unreasonably, at that. You have more secrets and lies surrounding you than anyone I've ever encountered.' _The thought was heavy between them. Touya felt his expression reflect it and sniffed, shaking his head lightly.

"No matter. If you say that I was right, at least that's somewhere to start."

"When's your first session?" Hikaru asked. Touya cleared the board and began to replay the game.

"Next Wednesday. It'll be late, of course. It's going to be rough working time into my schedule for a while. I don't suppose I could get you to give some supplementary lessons to keep her playing?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't give her lessons," Shindo apologized. Akira shot him a venomous look and the other boy held up his hands. "I already told her that any games I played with her would just be for fun. Besides, even you say that I suck at instruction." Touya's expression didn't soften. "Ogata, maybe. Or you could have Kurata…no, Kurata's no good…Who else…?"

"Ogata's no good either," Touya said with a sigh, glare finally cooling as he set the last stone of the game. "His schedule's worse than mine. And I shudder to think about leaving her alone with _him._" Shindo's eyes were a question that Touya ignored. "Forget it. Playing 'for fun' may be enough for her initially. So long as she has stones in her hands as often as possible…"

"…What about Akari?" Hikaru asked slowly. Touya blinked.

"Fujiwara-san?"

"She plays at a B-class insei level. It'll be good for Yuka to get experience from all kinds of people. She isn't a beginner, but she hasn't been exposed to competitive play before."

"Why not just let her play around in some Go salon, then?" Touya was getting irritated. The whole affair was becoming a major nuisance. He barely had enough time to visit his parents, play his matches, see Shindo and Ashiwara and the few other friends he had, and sleep, not to mention the various promotional jobs he got from the Go Association, sessions with the Ogata's study group, and preparing for two upcoming tournaments. Why should one girl have a license to alter his entire life just so Kurata could feel good about himself?

"Hey now, Touya," Hikaru said after a brief pause. "That's not a bad idea."

* * *

><p>"Her name is Ito Yuka," Touya said to his father, pouring him a cup of tea. The old man was reclining at his wife's insistence, watching a game of NetGo between two Korean pros. "She's a few years younger than I am. I'm not too sure of her skill level, but she has definite potential. And Shindo Hikaru vouched for her, too."<p>

"Ah, Shindo-kun. How is he doing these days?"

"He is well." Akira handed the cup to his father and joined him in watching the match. "Busy, I suppose, but better than you last saw him."

"Good. That boy…he's important, Akira. Don't let him fall too far behind."

Touya wanted to bristle at the implication that the he and Shindo were at the same pace, but he restrained himself to a simple, "He's doing better. His play is evolving, like you said. It's slow, but…" He searched for the right words. "I can see it; the player he could become." The look he gave his father was a question. "He's going to be very strong."

"He already is very strong. But then, so are you, Akira," Touya Kouyo responded, eyes still glued to the computer screen. "Shindo-kun is currently experimenting with many aspects of his game. He's learning to recognize very specific weaknesses in his play, and he is building new ways to overcome them; strategies that haven't been seen before."

"He seems to incorporate many archaic variations in his play," Akira noted for perhaps the dozenth time, but for the first time out loud. It didn't seem strange to discuss this with his father, though he did notice the faintest hint of a smirk on his father's face.

"In another hundred years, players will look to his games as a tome of insight into the complexities of the game. Akira, it is up to you to make sure he finds his way." The younger Touya looked helpless for the smallest instant. "No one will ever understand that boy more than you do. And no one will ever be able to let him discover his own methods as effectively as you; you are both so accustomed to playing each other…Haven't you noticed in your games against other players? At certain points, don't you find yourself evaluating a match as if you are sitting across from Shindo-kun?"

Touya allowed himself to smile, looking back at the computer screen.

"Do you have someone like that, father? Someone that helped you to discover your own Go?"

The former Meijin's smile lessened, corners hardening as he fought visibly to remain cheerful.

"I did, yes. Briefly, but yes…"

Akira blinked. _'Is he talking about…but who else _could_ it be?_' He couldn't bring himself to ask any more; he knew he wouldn't get any answers and it would only upset his father, but Touya tucked the information away. It was important. It was the biggest clue he was likely to receive from his father about Sai.

"It is a blessing, Akira, to have someone like that in your life."

"What about _my_ Go, father? Will I find someone like that, too?"

Touya Kouyo regained his smile. "You haven't found him yet because he isn't ready." Akira's confusion was enough for his father to elaborate, "When Shindo Hikaru shows you the extent of his abilities, you will be able to find your own. And then…" His smile was so serene. "…The future of all of Go will be in your hands; I just hope I will be there to see it."

* * *

><p>Setsuko moved Hikaru's hands over the biwa methodically. The strings had been removed and a cloth prepared to polish the wooden body of the instrument, but then Setsuko insisted on being allowed to do it herself.<p>

"You barely let me play at all," she complained using his voice. Hikaru decided he would never get used to hearing himself when he wasn't talking, especially when she would say the same things that Sai always did…

'_Don't complain; I don't have too much time these days. Things may change later on, but for now…just be grateful I'm letting you play at all.'_ He felt like a bully. Her sullen pouting wasn't helping him feel any better.

"Well, I'm at least going to sing for you today," she told him. "I'm tired of humming."

'_By all means,'_ Hikaru sighed. What choice did he have?

"Hikaru?" Setsuko asked, polishing cloth pausing in its gentle caresses. "Do you think you could…no, never mind."

'_What is it?'_ This was one of the most infuriating things she did: thinking half of a thought out loud and refusing to share its entirety without a lot of effort and prodding on Hikaru's part.

"No, you just said you don't have any time." She at least seemed to be genuinely trying not to inconvenience him, but he could never tell when she was being genuine or when she was just trying to manipulate him.

'_Just tell me what you want. I'll decide if there's time for it.'_

"I've been thinking a lot lately…" She made his fingers clench around the cloth; he felt how uncomfortable she was. "Is it possible to take a trip soon?"

'…_Where to?'_

"I…" she drooped, catching Hikaru's lip in between his teeth. "I'd like to see my old palace."

'_In Ise? Setsuko…you've seen what I have. I did research for you; it isn't a palace anymore. Just ruins and museums.'_

"I know that!" his voice shouted at him. "I know it's probably pointless, but I keep on…" Tears stung at Hikaru's eyes and throat. "I keep seeing the same dreams, Hikaru. I need to see it myself…" She wiped his eyes with the back of his hand before resuming the task of polishing the biwa. "I _need_ to, Hikaru."

Hikaru considered it for a moment. _'I suppose it's close enough to Innoshima…I'm planning that trip with Touya soon. We'll be passing by that way…Sure, Setsuko. We can go to Saiku.' _A flood of delight surged into his consciousness. _'But!' _She calmed herself down by a few notches. _'I just want to warn you now: everything is so much different now. I don't want you to get your hopes up too much.'_

"Oh, thank you, Hikaru! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" His voice had never been so high-pitched.

'_Don't worry about it. And Setsuko?'_

"Nnn?"

'_Don't ever be worried about asking for things. I'll let you know when you're being ridiculous. I promise.'_ Her grin was his and it was fantastic. _'Now…play me a song.'_

"Patience, patience." Her giddiness hadn't faded. It actually grew as she finished cleaning her biwa and restrung it. "My lovely here won't meet any demands but my own." She was beaming as she plucked at the strings, tuning the instrument to match the range of Hikaru's voice. "This is a story song about a general and his horse."

As she sang and played, Hikaru could see the story. He forgot that he was listening to his own voice as it was transfigured through Setsuko's mastery of vocalization. He forgot that his fingers were developing new calluses that blistered uncomfortably and would horribly inconvenience him throughout the next few days. He forgot everything except the taste of the music in his mind and for a moment, he felt nothing at all except Setsuko moving his fingers and lips to the simple rhythms of the song. Horses galloped across his mind and he drifted until Setsuko pulled back.

_**I can't do much else today…**_ she murmured, fatigue tickling her place in his mind. _**Please set it to rest for me…Hikaru?**_

"Okay, Setsuko-hime." She smiled at the formality, slipping further into her own exhaustion.

_**And…thank you. For everything…**_

* * *

><p><em><strong><strong>Phew, that was a long wait for some of you. More is coming, but not soon. I'm done with making irresponsible, optimistic promises. We're really getting somewhere though. And that _is_ a promise. _


	9. Chapter 9

_Touya Akira was dreaming. It wasn't a particularly pleasant dream, but it was incredibly vivid. He was playing a game with his father, one that he had often replayed by himself. But now, he watched himself move his hands, place the pieces, brush the fabric on his knees. He was strangely unnerved watching himself move from behind his eyes._

'_Now he'll play below the top-right star point...'_

_**=chk=**_

'…_and I play…hmm?'_

_His hand wasn't moving on its own. It hovered, stone ready, waiting to be placed._

"_Akira?"_

'_Right! It was there, but…I _should _play…_here_**.**__'_

_**=chk=**_

_It was wrong. It was a different play; a _better_ play than he should have been able to come up with._

"_So that is your answer. Well, then—"_

* * *

><p>Akira sat up, hands shaking. He was sweating. It was still dark.<p>

'_What on Earth…' _he wondered, chest heaving without good reason. _'Where was…'_ He rolled out of bed and stumbled across the floor to get to his goban, playing out the game.

'_White beneath the star point…And then here…' _He set the stone.

Touya stared at the board, wondering what the play was, where it had come from, what it was supposed to mean.

"Strange…" he murmured to the darkness. "It's almost…" His attention snapped back to the board.

'_If I was my father, what would the answer be?'_

The sun rose before he could think of an answer.

* * *

><p>Neither girl was likely to give up at any point in the near future, so Hikaru settled in better to watch. Kawai had recently taken over the Go salon that Hikaru had trained at in his insei days, and having Akari and Yuka both playing there put the young pro at his old friend's mercy more than a few times, but the regulars really enjoyed having the girls play there. Yuka was facing off against Kawai and Akari was playing the previous owner without a handicap. Both were holding their own.<p>

_**Is she stronger than before? **_Setsuko asked, watching the game being played half-heartedly.

'_It's only been a week. She's a bit more confident, but she still needs time. She hasn't really developed any personality in her Go.'_ Hikaru ground his teeth. _'There might not be enough time before the pro exam…' _He exhaled through his nose as Yuka made a grievous misread on Kawai's retreat. He would have her at her knees in three turns, and she wasn't yet skilled enough to turn it around. _'We're going to have to work much harder if she's going to pass.''_

"I win!" Akari exclaimed as her opponent resigned.

"Kids today…" the old man chuckled. "I dunno where you found this one, Hikaru, but she's really something. Is she going to take the pro exam as well?"

Akari wrinkled her nose at the notion and made a noise of disgust while Hikaru simultaneously laughed out loud. Then they both glared at each other.

"I have more academic plans for my future," Akari said politely to the man, sticking her tongue out at Hikaru before turning her attention to Yuka's game.

"Yuka-chan? How are you…" She trailed off as Yuka hung her head. Her lips weren't moving in their usual flurry of numbers.

"I resign," she said quietly, though not weakly. Her eyes were still fierce. "Once more. I'll beat you without a handicap, Kawai-san." Her sweet smile made Hikaru's neck feel cold.

_**She's certainly…interesting,**_ Setsuko commented with a laugh.

'_Terrifying, more like…'_

A more heated game commenced, one that Yuka steered with much less effort. Confidence blazed behind every move.

_**She's remarkable. **_Hikaru blinked at the spirit. _**Not only her playing; **_**she**_** is a truly remarkable girl. **_The young pro nodded, slipping into a kind of contentedness in watching his 'pupil' and Akari play. The intensity of both of the games surprised him. Akari showed distinct progress from the last time he'd played with her.

'_Probably from playing with Mitani so much,' _he told Setsuko. _'Mitani could pass the pro exam no problem this year, but he would never try. He's much too practical for that kind of thing. But I never expected Yuka to be the type to take it so seriously either…'_ He trailed off as he detected a rare smile from the girl that she masked almost immediately. He felt a surge of approval and amusement from Setsuko that he gladly shared.

_**She's coming along in her attitude, but there's still a long way to go before she'll be openly…pleasant.**_

'_A big part of that is her family.' _Hikaru chewed his lip. _'She shouldn't be living with her parents if they don't support her even a little.' _Setsuko's thoughts withdrew as she internalized a flood of questions. Hikaru sighed, feeling out the gist of her concerns. _'I left home for much different reasons; and my family has always stood behind my decisions.' _He turned his focus to Akari's game. She was winning, but she was about to get caught up in the kind of life-or-death battle that she so despised. He grinned as he watched her realize the way the game was heading.

_**All of this family business is new to me. I mean even for the times, my family wasn't exactly typical. My mother was a concubine to the emperor and was never too involved in raising me. She did love me—very much so, I imagine—but it was my caretakers that were the most excited when I was selected to be the Saio…**_ Setsuko murmured. Her eyes closed as she recalled a now-distant memory. _**My mother was pleased, too. And my brother…he had just taken the throne and we were never close, but— **_A pang of nausea hit Hikaru as the spirit's grief set in.

'_Setsuko…'_ He breathed heavily through his mouth until her sorrow faded. She didn't apologize, but smiled faintly at her host. _'Was it really so bad?'_

_**I was young and I thought I was being abandoned. **_Her posture seemed too rigid. She was standing so straight. So tall. _**I **_**was**_** abandoned by them, but it was the best possible outcome for me. My life would have been meaningless if I'd remained in Kyoto. As Saio, I had real power. I had control.**_

There was more to it. Setsuko seemed to be keeping something back, but Hikaru didn't press matters. If she had regained her memories, she would let him know in due time. They had already shared so much in the brief time they had been together.

_**Thank you, Hikaru, **_she whispered with a trademark giggle and toss of her hair. _**This bond isn't something I take lightly, you know. **_Her eyes were rather dark.

'_Me neither.'_

_**I know.**_

"I resign," Yuka sighed, stretching her back. She and Kawai had both hunched over significantly during the course of the game, trying to limit their focus to the stones on the board. Both appeared equally embarrassed by their return to the larger world and the stiffness of their muscles.

"Play with me now, Yuka. Akari, see if you can show Kawai a good match." Yuka appeared somewhat insulted, but Hikaru shook his head at her, adding lightly, "You played very well. I haven't seen Kawai get so focused in a very long time." Then the girl looked distinctly uncomfortable, though quite pleased. Akari gave him a long, inquisitive look before shaking her head and clearing her board. She had yet to defeat Kawai, but Hikaru recognized a strong determination in those chestnut eyes; she was going to put up quite a struggle in this game.

Yuka set up the board for her game with Hikaru, hesitating over which goke to choose.

"Take white," he said, nudging the goke towards her. She took it with a slight frown. "Follow my lead." Her frown grew.

_**She's wondering what you expect from her, **_Setsuko supplied for him. _**She doesn't want to disappoint you.**_

'_That's ridiculous!'_ Hikaru scoffed. _'I'm not her teacher or her dad or anything like that.'_

_**Nothing like that, Hikaru. **_The ghost knelt behind him, painted lips whispering, _**She just doesn't want to look bad in your eyes.**_

'_Now _that's_ ridiculous,' _he scowled. _'She doesn't have the same opinion of men as you do, Setsuko.'_

_**Oh? And what's that?**_

'_That we're all up for grabs.'_

Setsuko shot several distinct images of the girl along with her own mental commentary for rebuttal as the game began. Yuka's hair, done up with care; her make-up, more elaborate than Hikaru had seen before; her clothes, obviously a step up from the casual wear she had worn before in his company…

Hikaru could easily play and keep the argument on the side of his mind, but the ghost's persistence was wearing him out and beginning to seriously annoy him.

_**She's obviously tried hard for today's meeting. A girl expresses herself best through the way she presents herself—take note of this, Hikaru. It could serve you well in the future.**_

'_That just isn't how things are with us.'_

"Atari," Yuka said softly, placing a stone. She chewed her lips, a habit she seemed to have adopted recently.

"Nice try," Hikaru said, "but that wasn't where I was headed." He placed his stone on the opposite side of the board. "Follow my lead," he repeated. Yuka nodded, impatience seeping into creases in her forehead. She ignored the fresh black stone and closed off her atari, still not seeing the big picture of the board.

"I thought you told me that we would never play shidougo," she grumbled, squeezing her hand into a brief fist.

"This isn't shidougo," Hikaru reassured her. "All you have to do is follow me." Yuka's irritation flared before settling into a dull, seething menace. Hikaru was almost afraid to look her way.

"Fine," she spat, snapping a stone down in another incorrect response. Then she froze, finger hovering above the mistake. "Oh…can I…?" She glared again, anger rising up again. "What do you mean this 'isn't shidougo'? What is it if it isn't shidougo?" she muttered, balling her hands and

"I'm not going to teach you. You're going to teach yourself. Pick up that stone. What are you _supposed_ to do here?"

Yuka's eyes narrowed. "This is too shidougo, Shindo-kun. This is exactly what Touya-sensei makes me do." She picked up her stone and set it at a more appropriate spot, though it was still a far more aggressive play than should be made. "Well…you are much nicer about it…"

Hikaru laughed to himself for a moment, not doubting for a second that was true. He'd heard many stories about Akira's teaching methods, none of them too pleasant. "All right, then. Let's stop. But I want to see a game you played in class. Show me a game that you lost."

Yuka sighed, but swept the stones into her lap, replacing them on the board. But she didn't play out the game like Hikaru expected her to; instead, she counted out from the top row, filling in stones as she went. Row after row, she counted out and placed the stones. Her lips formed the stream of numbers that Hikaru was used to hearing.

"Yuka-chan…what are you doing?"

She looked up. "The game; I resigned after…hold on." She finished placing the stones. "I resigned here," she said, pointing to a random white stone. "Kanae-chan cut through my last formation here."

Hikaru blinked, able to see the path of the game with only a little difficulty, but what was more surprising was still…

'_Photographic memory?'_ he wondered, bewilderment passing only to fill him with more doubt and confusion.

_**Photograph? Like the picture-box men? **_Setsuko asked. Hikaru still had no idea how to explain photos to the ghost though she frequently fixated on that aspect of technology.

'_Never mind. I'll explain later."_

"Replaying the game like that…Yuka-chan, have you always been able to do that?"

"Yeah," she nodded proudly. "Touya-sensei says it will be my secret weapon so long as I don't let it out. That's why he told me to stop saying the patterns out loud."

'_I see. She learned the basic strategies and forms so easily because she memorized the context for each kind of move. Touya…did Touya know after just one game? Did he figure it out so easily?' _

Setsuko frowned, observing her host. He fixated so easily over the smallest things when it came down to Touya Akira, as if losing to him was worse than anything he could imagine.

"Surely Touya taught you to replay games move by move, not by the end result."

The girl ducked her head. "It's easier if I can remember the end and play it backwards. The last frame is different for every game, but starting from the beginning, a lot of them play out the same way."

Hikaru wanted to shake his head, rid himself of the feelings of complete disgust and annoyance that he felt towards the girl, but he couldn't. The girl's apathy and confusion, her complete tactlessness, and the fact that Touya had probably known the whole time just what Ito Yuka was capable of…Hikaru settled on blaming everything on Touya.

_**The girl is strong?**_

'_The girl is terrifying, Setsuko. When she learns more, sees all the different kinds of Go…' _he shuddered. Yuka cocked her head and leaned forward slightly. _'This girl could change the face of Go. She is very weak now, but in a few years…Dammit.'_

* * *

><p>The day had grown late far before Akira was ready for it. He was exhausted and ready for bed the moment he got home. So when his doorbell rang as he was about to disrobe, he groaned audibly before going to answer it. He was both surprised and perturbed to see Shindo on his doorstep.<p>

"It's been a while, Touya," Shindo said as he barged in.

"I've been very busy, Shindo. I still don't really know what was so urgent, but you must be quick. I'm very tired," Akira replied with a sigh.

"It's about Yuka-chan. Did you know when you sent her to me?"

"I have no idea what you're babbling about, Shindo." Touya yawned, slouching past a comfortable casualness but too exhausted to straighten his spine. "You'll have to be more specific."

"Photographic memory, Touya. Did you know after that time?"

Akira leaned against the wall in a feigned pose of nonchalance. "Not immediately. I suspected something after our second match, but…well, I'm surprised it took you so long to catch on."

Hikaru's face contorted in a complicated display of anger, frustration, and hurt. "Well, I'm sorry I can't just be a genius like you, Touya," he shouted. "Why are you always doing that? Testing me like that?" Touya straightened up and looked pointedly away from his rival's face. "We're supposed to be equals. You're always just looking down on me!"

"Well, I can't really say it wasn't similar to a test, but I—"

"No, don't even! I don't want some bullshit excuse from you. It was a test, Touya. Her playing reminded you of our first match, and you wanted to rub it in my face. That I wasn't 'special' or whatever it was that you thought I was."

"The counting…" Akira murmured. He had assumed that Yuka's numbers had been somehow related to the way Hikaru had navigated the goban in their first match, hesitating over each space. Hikaru accepted his words as a confession, continuing on his rant.

"It's completely different, Touya. I told you—I _told _you that I would tell you about Sai, but you can't just wait, can you? You can't just let things be! Everything has to be on your terms! You were hoping that girl's methods were the same as Sai's, but it's not even close!"

"You're contradicting yourself, now," Touya interjected. "You don't get to say that this is about us and then say it's about Sai."

"Everything about Sai _is _about us!" Hikaru shouted, dangerous glint in his eyes. "And everything between us is about Sai!" Touya took a step towards his friend, torn equally between confusion and apologetic worry. Hikaru gave him a small shove. "Don't!" Touya's hands rose in a gesture of peace. "It's always been Sai, hasn't it Touya?"

Touya couldn't speak immediately, unsure of just what he should say, and Shindo's anger cracked to let in some disbelief and sorrow. Akira took a small step towards his friend only to have Hikaru back away. "Hikaru? Listen, now—"

"_Don't!_ Don't you _dare_, Touya! You don't get to act like I'm the one being unreasonable here!" he interrupted, breathing heavily.

"Make me understand, Shindo; I don't know what you're trying to tell me."

"Us. Chasing me. Playing me. Keeping me close. It's always been to find Sai, hasn't it?"

Shindo was shaking. His voice was unstable. Touya couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his friend so angry.

"Shindo, calm down. You aren't thinking clearly."

"Why else would you keep me around?" Anger devolved into self-pity, and Touya's worry became absolute annoyance.

"Stop it!" he shouted. Hikaru made a strange noise as he bit off his next exclamation. "You're being ridiculous now. I 'keep you around,' Shindo, because we are catching up to each other. Didn't you say to me that our Go is the best? What has changed since then, Shindo?"

"What's _changed,_ Touya, is that girl. Every stupid part of how we used to be is coming back, all because you agreed to teach that _girl_, and you keep throwing it in my face! We can't just be grown-ups because every time we try to move forward, there's always something to bring us back to Sai!"

"We can't be 'grown-ups' because we can't ever just have a civil conversation when we don't agree on something." Touya's voice was colder than he had intended. Hikaru looked away, face tight and coloring with shame and embarrassment.

"Touya…I—"

"No, just listen to me." Touya closed the gap between them and placed a reassuring hand on his rival's shoulder. "We still have a long way to go together. Sai is a part of our history, sure, but he isn't the only thing between us." Hikaru looked up, expression a mixture of confusion, hope, apprehension, and countless other things. "We're going to grow together. We'll become strong and, someday, we will achieve the Hand of God. Shindo, don't run away from that. I need you; we can only do this together."

* * *

><p>"Touya…" Hikaru's hand found Akira's, still on his shoulder. The anger was still somewhere inside him, but the 4-dan just gripped his friend's hand. Something about the atmosphere was making Hikaru uncomfortable. "Are you—"<p>

"I'm right here." Touya's voice was distant and Hikaru couldn't make the words intelligible.

Touya turned those unfair aqua eyes to the hand that clung to his. He withdrew his hand and reached to grasp Hikaru's more conventionally. More intimately. More strangely. Long pale fingers slid over his palm and his knuckles. Hikaru found himself wishing that he hadn't gone numb from complete disbelief without even trying to wonder why he would want to feel such a thing. The fingers brushed over the lines in his palm, the callus on the end of his middle finger, the dimple in his pointer fingernail.

Hikaru was fascinated. He felt he should be repulsed by the intimate gesture or even disgusted, but he found himself spellbound watching Akira study his hand.

"You've come so far," the other pro said simply. His fingertips ran down the back of Hikaru's hand all the way to the wrist, then back up. Hikaru's other hand flexed as he willed himself to stand completely still. Setsuko's reticence worried him. He didn't know what to do. He was frozen, scared, nervous because of this new Touya standing in front of him. With him.

'_He's just tired,' _he reasoned. _'Or teasing me. He's probably mad at me for shouting at him. That's it: just some kind of weird revenge.'_

"Touya…what are you doing?" he asked in a strained voice. Touya didn't even blink.

"Your hands…" Touya murmured. "I was just …it doesn't matter. Are you finished? I have a match in the morning and I need to get to bed before I fall asleep right here." He yawned and pulled back his hands to cover his mouth. Hikaru found himself nodding emphatically.

"Yeah, s-sure. I'll just, uh, see mys-self out…" he stammered, stumbling towards the door.

"Hikaru?" Touya called, half yawning again. "Don't get lost, okay?"

Hikaru got himself out without bothering to answer. His mind was reeling. He felt inside out. He'd fought with Touya before, but never in such a personal way. It was never so…

'…_inti—no! Definitely not…_that._ Anything except that.'_

_**Hikaru? If you'd like, you could—**_

"I do _not_ want to talk about this. Not with you." Setsuko's hurt made him cringe. "You've already made up your mind about me and Touya, and I'm sick of hearing it. It's making me…_strange._" The hurt didn't fade as Hikaru made his way to the train station and to the correct line. After a bit of thought and only slight hesitation, he pulled out his phone and called Isumi.

"Can you talk now?" he asked when the man answered.

'_It's kinda late, Shindo. Where the hell are you?'_

"Oh, the noise. I'm at the station. I can be there in twenty minutes; _please_, Isumi!"

'_Is it important? I have an early morning tomorrow.'_

"I had a fight with Touya."

'_Is that all?"_

"Not exactly..." Hikaru mumbled. His neck warmed. "He, um…He was…er…"

Isumi sighed. _'I got it. Come on over. You can stay for a bit, but if you keep me up all night, I will end you." _

Hikaru's tension abated. "Thanks, Isumi. Seeya soon." He hung up and boarded the train, Setsuko sticking close to him. Her pout was wearing on him.

'_Setsuko, I don't want you in my head right now,' _he told her quietly. _'Not while I can't think.'_

_**Hikaru, you're going to have to face this, **_she murmured back. Her guilt trip along with his own distress was eating away at his sanity. Something he had bottled inside of him was swelling, seeping out the edges, forming new cracks in his resolve. He pushed the ghost back.

"Just give me some _time!_"he hissed, refusing to meet the injured look on her face.

_**Hikaru…**_her hurt lingered as she pulled back and disappeared into the niche she had made in his mind.

A niche that had belonged to Sai.

A niche that never should have existed.

* * *

><p>Shindo looked like hell when he turned up in Isumi's door. Waya knew that he himself had no business being there when his two friends were about to stage some horribly serious talk, but he was too curious to want to leave and too stubborn to excuse himself.<p>

Years ago, Shindo had vanished form the Go world suddenly and inexplicably, and no one knew anything about it except for Shindo himself and Isumi. And neither of them would give anyone a straight answer. All Waya could put together was that Isumi had managed to convince Hikaru to return when even Touya couldn't.

'_Are they finally gonna tell me what the hell that was about?'_ Waya wondered, somehow giddy to see one of his closest friends in such a bad state.

"Thanks for letting me come over," Shindo said. His gratitude rolled off of him in waves and the tension he had brought in with him began to fade.

"Well, I can't really say it's a bother when the biggest bother of all is busy eavesdropping from the kitchen." Isumi's tone made Waya cringe.

"You want anything to drink, Shindo?" he called sheepishly, poking around the wall that separated the rooms.

"Oh, hey Waya," was the deadpan response.

"Oi! I'm your friend too, you little prick! Why can't you tell me your shit, too?"

"Maybe I just don't feel like it!" The pair stuck their tongues out at each other and Waya withdrew, rejoining the conversation with a beer for each of them.

"Okay. _Speak," _Isumi commanded as if Shindo was a dog. Hikaru looked quickly at Waya then down to his beer. Isumi sighed.

"He's just gonna tell me after you leave, so you might as well," Waya interjected. "It must be important if it's got _you_ overthinking things."

Hikaru scoffed and popped open his beer. "Cheers," he said before downing half of it in one breath.

"So, there's this girl," he began. Waya and Isumi made similar sounding snorts that Shindo ignored, continuing, "Ito Yuka. She's a student of Touya's and I've been meeting with her too, just for her to have some fun." Waya snickered, but Isumi looked a bit interested. "She's a good player. Smart, adaptable…oh, and she has photographic memory." He took another swig as the other two worked on absorbing that tidbit.

"Hold on, what was that?" Isumi looked like Waya felt. "How is that legal?"

"There's no rule against it. I mean, it's not like she's cheating. She can just catalog every move of every game ever played is all." Waya felt his brain press against his skull.

"That's…no, not incredible. It's monstrous. Ito…?"

"Yuka. Ito Yuka. And _Touya's _been teaching her. And probably using her as a way to evaluate me. Well…" Shindo trailed off, tapping his beer can thoughtfully. "She's only an insei right now. And she hasn't had any kind of instruction up till now, so her strategy's really rough. But if I hadn't noticed it now…He wanted her to spy on me!" The injustice in his voice almost made Waya lose his composure. The idea of Touya Akira training a highly skilled Go super-spy for the sole purpose of taking down Shindo Hikaru was almost laughable.

_Almost._

Touya had always been strangely interested in Shindo, and Waya had seen more than a few justifications for such interest.

'_And Touya's batshit crazy and completely obsessed with Go. Doesn't help Shindo sound any less like a paranoid headcase…'_

"So….that's what you wanted to talk about?" Isumi asked gently. "I mean, yeah, it's a bit much, but—"

Hikaru shook his head. "I found this out earlier today," he continued, rubbing at his temples, "so I went to confro—well, I basically went to his house and shouted at him." Waya laughed at the mental image. Hikaru looked as if he might join in, but he continued speaking.

"But Touya was really…strange. He shouted for a bit too—which is fine; I started it—but he…" Hikaru finished his beer and set the can down. "He got really quiet and touched my hand and stuff. It was…I mean, we've touched each other and stuff before, but it wasn't…It wasn't like _that._"

Waya prayed that he wouldn't burst out with the hysterical giggles that were building inside of him. He stood and made it to the kitchen, hiding his silent spasms of laughter behind the dividing wall. He re-emerged with a fresh beer for Hikaru, reminding himself repeatedly that Shindo was his friend and his feelings were important and—

'_Christ, here it comes again.'_

"So, you're worried that Touya might have…_feelings _for you?" Isumi reasoned. Waya coughed around a rogue chuckle that tried to rip out of his throat. Isumi glared at him in a fluid motion that ordinarily wouldn't have been so hilarious, but the circumstances were becoming too much.

"Dammit Waya, just laugh already. It's absurd, but that's what happened to me today."

"It's n-not funny at all," Waya lied, stammer making the last telling crack in his efforts to behave and he started laughing so hard he spilled his beer and almost fell out of his chair. Even Isumi laughed and Hikaru managed a sheepish grin, all of his exposed skin glowing bright red.

"Ha fucking ha, guys," he grumbled. He looked more relaxed than he had since he entered the apartment. "This is why I didn't want to tell Waya." This had them laughing all over again and Hikaru did join in, if a bit reluctantly.

"What now, though?" Isumi asked after the mirth faded. "I mean, you don't have feelings for him too…?"

"God no," Hikaru snorted, taking a heavy swig of beer. "I don't want our friendship to change at all! But how the hell am I supposed to…I mean, I've never had to reject a _guy_ before, much less one I'm friends with."

"Really?" Waya asked casually. "I thought you'd get the gay thing a lot with that hairstyle and questionable wardrobe."

"Get fucked, Waya," Shindo replied lovingly.

"Now children," Isumi sighed. "Behave yourselves or I'll make you leave. Shindo, try talking things out with Touya, but don't just spring it on him. It's not like he actually confessed to you or anything. If something strange happens again, just let him know that you're uncomfortable. Honestly, _not _talking is the worst thing you can do for your friendship, whatever the case."

"Isumi the diplomat," Waya mocked, trying to figure out why Shindo looked positively guilty.

* * *

><p><em>Updates will resume on my profile. Basically, I have a lot of written material that just has no place in the story just yet and I'm not sure if I want to make the context for all of it. What I'm left with is pages and pages of crap with some good bits thrown in that I can't bring myself to get rid of. Some of it will be included, other stuff might get its own section of cracky, smutty, or just meaningful garbage that I had too much fun writing to throw out. Revisions are in the works-nothing major, just typos and the like. Please PM me if you noticed anything glaring in grammar, spelling, or even inconsistencies in the storyline. I know the team Go section is a bit rough, but I originally wrote it out much differently and it didn't get revised too well initially. Lalalalala I won't abandon this story, promise. I just need to get my head on straight. Thank you for your time, dear readers. TTFN~<em>


	10. Chapter 10

"Ah, Akira-kun. It's good to see you again," Ogata said lazily as he approached the boy. Akira returned slowly to reality, having been deep inside his own thoughts.

"Ogata-san," he replied politely. "How was your match with Ichiryu-Meijin?"

"It isn't quite over yet. The man's no pushover." The man lit a cigarette in a fluid motion. "He didn't become the Meijin by some fluke."

The second round of the Honinbou title was becoming absolutely ruthless. Touya himself had already been eliminated and Shindo was barely in the running. He could only afford one more loss, and even then…

'_It's a long way off before the next round. And the title match is still a year away…'_

"But at any rate, I needed to speak to you, Akira-kun." Touya pulled his attention back to his old friend. "The Hokuto Cup…have you heard anything new about it recently?"

Touya shook his head. "It's a few weeks away still. The Go Association contacted me and Shindo, and I assume Yashiro-san, about it last month. The qualifying tournament is only be for challengers for our seats this year, but we shouldn't know the results before the end of the month."

"Well, it's been decided that I will be the team manager for this year. And since the Hokuto Cup has grown in popularity since last year, the qualifying tournament is a bit more involved. The preliminary round both here and in Kansai has just ended, and you three will have to play in the final round two weeks from now. Don't take it lightly and lose, though," Ogata smirked. "It's your last chance to earn a victory for Japan, after all…"

"We did manage to defeat Korea last year," Touya reasoned, a defensiveness creeping into his tone that he did not like; his Go had always been strong enough to defend itself. "The Chinese were just too enthusiastic."

"It doesn't mean all that much without having beaten Ko Yongha."

Touya flinched. His was the only loss in that round and somehow no one seemed to be able to let him forget it, least of all Ogata.

'_Though Shindo seemed satisfied that even I couldn't defeat his "nemesis"…'_

"He'd gotten much stronger since the first Cup. And besides, he's too old to compete this time." Akira couldn't suppress a sigh. Maybe Yongha would come watch the tournament and Touya could seek a rematch.

"We'd best take advantage of that and terrorize this tournament." Touya couldn't tell if the 10-dan was joking.

* * *

><p>The weather was nicer than it had been in days. A passing storm had ended overnight and the morning sky was clear. The sun warmed the spring air, cut by a slight breeze.<p>

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to learn?" Setsuko asked the boy with his own voice. His emphatic refusal bothered her. He seemed to enjoy the music now that he was used to her controlling his body, but every time she offered to teach him…

'_I'm positive. More than positive. Quit asking. And quit talking to me in public. People must think I'm insane.'_

"No one's paying attention to us," Setsuko frowned, continuing to tune the biwa. The instrument seemed to purr as she tightened the strings, anticipating the song she was about to play. "And you know, I am taking up your time and energy and I would like to compensate you somehow. It isn't fair for me to exhaust you all the time without any benefit," she murmured.

'_Setsuko, please don't worry about that kind of thing. It's annoying.'_

"Why are you mad?"

'_I'm not mad, I just don't want you waste your time thinking about that stuff.'_

"All I have is time."

Hikaru didn't answer, but she felt a deep hurt building from his heart. An old wound. A wound that had never properly healed.

"Hikaru?"

'_Just be happy, okay? So long as you're happy…'_

'_Sai,' _Setsuko realized somberly, _'He must have thought he had time as well. This cannot continue forever. I just hope…hm? What was…'_ Her hands stopped as she tried again to grasp what was right outside of her memory.

'_Setsuko?'_ Hikaru prompted after a moment of silence and stillness. She shook the haze from their shared head and smiled, fingers sliding over the glossy wood of the biwa.

"Shall I sing?" she asked merrily, knowing that he would pretend to oppose out of habit, but enjoy hearing his voice wielded as it was by the talented priestess.

'_By all means,'_ he said instead. The softness and lack of sarcasm surprised the spirit, but she cradled the biwa for a moment and smiled.

"This song was taught to me when I was very small and still living in the capital," she said quietly. She began plucking a slow lullaby a bit sweet for her taste, but it fit the mood well. She felt Hikaru relax and slip into the spirit of the song.

'_All songs have it,'_ she thought as she began to sing. _'The deep spirit; a life that never dies. Each time a song is played, two points in time are connected in the endless web. A song heard now was heard in another millennium by other people, all breathing this air.'_ Her fingers pulled plaintive cries from the biwa. _'Are you listening, Hikaru? This is the song you heard my heart sing.' _She breathed in deeply. The feeling shouldn't have been so strange. _'Can you hear me, God? Is this what I'm meant to be doing?'_

Setsuko sang. The feeling of her biwa pressed against her body—

'_No, this is Hikaru's body,' _she thought as she strummed. None of the things she felt—the vibration of the biwa, the sunlight on her face, the fabric rubbing her skin, the warmth of the late spring breeze—were actually things she felt. _'Hikaru feels all of these things. And I am just borrowing the sensation.' _

'_Setsuko?'_ her host called. His voice was muggy and strained. _'Setsuko, I'm feeling…tired. Can you find your way back to the apartment?'_

_**Of course. What is…? **_She stopped as his awareness faded. He had fallen asleep in her usual corner of his mind. Setsuko was dumbfounded. _'Is that even…well, it's obviously _possible, _but…'_

Her worry made her stand and immediately start heading back the way Hikaru had come. She felt her way back to his apartment through use of familiar landmarks and only thought she was lost once. The strange faces and general raucousness of the city was disorienting enough without trying to propel her unfamiliar body. Such extensive control left her exhausted, sprawled out on the floor just inside the doorway.

Once safely home, however, her concern returned to her host. He hadn't been feeling especially well of late and this collapse was unprecedented in her time with Hikaru. It was unnerving, to be completely alone for the first time since she had latched on to her host. In one thousand years, he was the only person she had actually been able to talk to. And that, at least, earned a bit of loyalty. She stood clumsily and inspected the body to the best of her ability.

'_His temperature's a bit high. Face is a bit paler than usual. A cold, perhaps?' _Unfamiliar lips frowned as she watched Hikaru's face in the mirror. _'Was it because of the lullaby…? Surely not. I've sung lullabies before and he was fine…' _She looked down at Hikaru's hands. They were larger and tougher than hers had been, but the biwa had left welts on the pads of his fingers on his left hand. She touched the fingers to her lips.

"It is such a rare opportunity…perhaps I should take advantage of this time?" she mused aloud.

Using Hikaru's body, Setsuko indulged herself in the small human comforts she had missed in the past millennium. She ate a delicious meal of leftovers that had been a gift from Hikaru's mother, took a long bath, danced around the cramped apartment, and smelled every pleasant thing she could find. Soaps, flowers, foods, clean laundry, the few books Hikaru kept besides his kifu and manga. She allowed herself to indulge, drinking a fair amount of Hikaru's modest collection of liquor, dancing again in the ceremonial forms she had practiced in her days in Ise. She ran her fingers over the soft blankets on his bed, splashed water in the sink, even plunged her hands into the goke, soaking up the familiarity that the body felt from it. Muscle memory prompted her to take one stone and place it on the goban, the sharp =_pachi=_ slightly stirring her host's consciousness.

What a sobering moment that was. She stood and teetered back to the bathroom, surprising herself by what she saw in the mirror. Setsuko knew that she wouldn't see her face reflected there, but it was a small shock nonetheless to watch Hikaru's body moving as she commanded it. Bottle green eyes blinked back at her. The blond bangs that partially obscured her vision shone brightly. Her neck felt cold.

'_Is it truly okay to stay like this?'_ the spirit wondered. She wanted to sit and brush her hair, but she didn't have her long curtain of black anymore. She didn't have her jade hairbrush or her handcrafted mirror, her _junihitoe_ or her palace or her rituals…

'_Am I still Tachibana-no-Setsuko?' _she thought miserably as she stared into the green eyes of a boy she barely knew in a bathroom mirror in twenty-first century Tokyo. _'Absolutely nothing is the same. Can I still call myself a Saio of Ise like this?'_

"No…" she whispered. "_One_ thing is still the same." She pulled the bachi from Hikaru's pocket.

* * *

><p>'<em>Hikaru's been avoiding me for days; why should he speak to me now?'<em> Touya wondered, standing outside Hikaru's apartment. He was startled to hear Hikaru's voice coming from inside. It wasn't loud, but it seemed to carry right to him.

'_Who is he speaking to? No, he's…he's _singing?' The realization had his mind going in circles. It was strange, old-fashioned music; some form of old story song with pauses in the phrasing that weren't present in contemporary music. When he listened closely he would hear it: the twang of the biwa.

A strong rejection built inside the young pro as he grew more and more disgusted with the idea of Shindo touching that horrible instrument. It was foul, perverse. Touya almost raised a fist to bang on the door, to silence the wretched music and demand that Hikaru never touch the thing again.

But Akira just stood and listened. He thought his initial aversion to the music had been justified anger towards his rival's macabre obsession, but he gradually accepted his own selfish desire to listen in.

He actually _wanted_ to hear Hikaru play that wretched instrument.

Touya was still abnormally, unnecessarily afraid of the biwa. He couldn't think about it without feeling slightly angry—just another piece he couldn't fit into the puzzle of Shindo Hikaru. But hearing it as hands brushed against it…

The twang of the biwa, Hikaru's voice layered on top…

'_I should go…'_ he thought without any desire to do so. He instead let himself inside, shutting the door behind him. Hikaru's eyes were closed, but they opened slightly as Akira entered the room and sat on the floor a cautious distance from the boy. He just listened, wondering why the singing continued. Why Shindo wasn't shouting at him, demanding that he explain himself, order him to leave.

A husk Shindo had never produced in his voice came out in his singing. Was it really the first time he had heard it? That emotion…

'_What's happening?'_ Touya wondered as he leaned into the sound. Hooded dark eyes held his gaze too long. Something was uncomfortably different about Hikaru, but Touya was far too entranced to leave at this point. He sat there, holding the horrible eye contact and pretending nothing was strange. He wanted to go; he wanted to run. The smirk on Shindo's face that kept reappearing was driving him mad. The song went on and on.

And on.

Akira couldn't move. The words stopped and the gentle strums came less and less frequently, though Hikaru's body still moved to a tempo only he knew.

"What is it, Touya?" Shindo's voice was warm and wet against Touya's ears. The music had left behind some kind of residue that changed the way he heard his friend. Why else would such a familiar voice seem so…alien?

"I just wanted to listen. I didn't want to interrupt," Akira answered in a low voice. Shindo set the biwa aside, placing it delicately against the wall. "I didn't know you had learned to play." Hikaru stretched and stood up, swaying as if drunk.

"I've played for a while," he answered with a cryptic smile. An unrecognizable smile. Something was different. Something was wrong.

"Shindo?" Touya stood slowly. Hikaru's face was pleasantly smiling at him, but something was strange in it. Something was very wrong.

"Touya." He crossed his arms. "I don't suppose you regularly make a habit of barging into people's homes without even bothering to knock."

"Oh, no I didn't intend to…" Touya trailed off as he tried to remember the reason he had gone all the way to Shindo's apartment. He had no idea. "I just wanted to talk, I suppose."

"Oh? I'm afraid I'm not quite able to talk at the moment, but if you wanted to set up a meeting later…?"

Touya blinked. Just what had happened to the Shindo he knew?

* * *

><p>'<em>This is bad,'<em> Setsuko thought as she tried to keep her face pleasant. _'Touya Akira…damn it, boy! Why now? Why did you have to appear now?' _She was becoming frantic. Hikaru still slumbered, and she didn't know how to wake him.

'_It should not be possible for him to be unconscious!'_ she thought as the silence grew.

"I'm really too tired to contribute much in the way of conversation…" she told Touya, a line that would have passed for an ungracious dismissal in her day. He shrugged it off easily.

'_Hikaru never talks this way. Blast it all!'_

_**Hikaru! **_she shouted at him. There was no reaction. His body began to sweat in her panic. '_What will happen if he doesn't wake?'_ she wondered, taking a seat on the sofa. Touya sat beside her, face a mix of concern and frustration.

"Well, don't talk then. But listen, okay? I wanted to speak to you about the Hokuto Cup, but first I feel I must…apologize, I suppose, for the way I behaved last time we met." His eyes stared directly into Hikaru's. The boy would have surely been uncomfortable, had he been aware. "I didn't intend to fight with you."

_**Hikaru, please! Touya wants to speak to you!**_ the ghost begged, hands clenching where they rested on Hikaru's knees. Her panic was rising. She had no idea how Hikaru's body would react if left this way, with its owner unconscious for an extended period. Even when sleeping normally, Hikaru was still had primary control of the body. It might reject her presence, expelling her completely without Hikaru's conscious consent for Setsuko to conduct the body. The priestess had no idea how it might react to a completely alien presence.

"Please don't worry about that kind of thing," Setsuko said, awkwardly trying to remember Hikaru's words to her earlier. "It's…annoying." She felt her cheeks darken as Touya looked almost aghast. Her gaze fell to Hikaru's knees.

'_Was it too much?' _she wondered nervously. _'I'm just not very good at mimicking Hikaru…'_

"Shindo, you are beginning to seriously worry me now. You come pick a fight with me, then you avoid me for days, and now…just what is _this?"_ He made a general gesture regarding Setsuko's demeanor.

She didn't look directly at him as she said, "He…_I_ haven't been avoiding you."

"You've been arriving to your matches later and leaving much earlier than usual."

"I've only had one match since then."

"And you haven't even spoken to Ito-san since that night either."

"She is usually the one to set our appointments, not me," Setsuko returned evenly.

_**Hikaru, why must I have this fight for you? **_she shouted at him. He still did not budge.

"And I come here to apologize, and you call it _annoying?"_

"_You_ entered without permission and started questioning my behavior."

"I'm only concerned! You're being so strange right now!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"_That_ is what I'm talking about!" Touya jumped up, becoming more expressive than Setsuko had ever seen him. "Why aren't you shouting at me? Tell me to get lost or mind my own business or _something_ normal!"

_**Hikaru!**_

"I swear I don't even know who you are right now!"

_**Hikaru, please… **_It was becoming too much for the spirit. She felt like she could cry. She just wanted Hikaru to wake up and fix everything and let her sleep. She was so tired…

"It's that awful biwa. Ever since you found that damned thing, you haven't been normal! You just—"

_**HIKARU!**_

'_DAMMIT, WHAT?'_

Setsuko was wrenched back into her customary niche and Touya went off on some tangent as Hikaru, absolutely livid from having just woken up, fought his way back into conscious control.

'_Oh thank God,' _Setsuko thought wearily, willing herself to stay awake and aware until the situation was properly remedied. After such a traumatic trip to the back of Hikaru's mind, the spirit wondered how she was still sensible.

'_Um…Setsuko?' _the boy asked as Touya glared at him.

"Shindo, what is wrong with you?" Touya asked in a low voice, finally noting his rival's lack of attention.

"Nothing. I mean, nothing you should be concerned with. Um…"

'_Setsuko, what the hell is going on?' _he asked as Touya puffed himself into full-steam verbal assault mode.

"The hell I shouldn't be concerned, Shindo! Honestly, that thick skull of yours—"

"Touya, I have to pee," Hikaru interrupted, stomping down the hall and slamming himself into the bathroom.

'_Setsuko?'_

_**He only just came by. I was playing and he let himself in the apartment. He heard me sing. Is that…Hikaru?**_

'_He let himself in?'_

_**Is that strange? I thought he might often…?**_

'_It's definitely strange. Especially for someone like Touya.'_

'_**Someone like'…?**_

'_He has really good manners. What else?'_

Setsuko explained quickly the situation.

'_Annoying? You called him annoying? When have I ever—'_

_**This morning in the park! Really, Hikaru,**_ the ghost pouted. _**Words are important; never say something unless you mean it completely.**_

'_Uh-huh. And you just told Touya Akira that his concerns are annoying.'_

Setsuko paused, unable to find an appropriate comeback.

_**Well, you said it to me… **_she glowered.

'_Is that all, then?'_

_**I think so.**_

'_Don't go to sleep yet,' _Hikaru ordered, feeling the grand depth of her exhaustion. _'Just in case I need you.'_ He left the bathroom, rejoining his friend in the living room.

"Touya, should we start over then?" Hikaru asked with a sigh. "I'm sorry I said you were annoying."

"I think I meant all of the things I said," Touya replied icily. He seemed to be sulking, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Hikaru sat on the couch, reclining in some imitation of nonchalance.

"Well, I did mention that I wasn't exactly fit for company today, didn't I?"

'_You did say that, right?'_

_**Just about,**_ the priestess answered, fatigue growing past the point that she could ignore it. _**Hikaru…I really…can't…**_

'_I know. You can rest now. I'm sorry to have made you do so much today.'_

_**No, it was…**_ she thought for a moment. _**It was fun.**_

* * *

><p>He wasn't wrong. Touya knew he wasn't wrong. Maybe he had barged into Hikaru's apartment, attacked his friend's character out of the blue, even insulted his most recent pastime; but he wasn't wrong.<p>

"You've been like this for months, Shindo. Ever since your grandfather died, you've been different." Though Touya put as much weight and meaning into his words as he was able, he couldn't ignore the relief that surged forth after finally being able to say them. "I can never tell when you're happy or just pretending nothing's wrong. Sometimes you look as if you're about to just run away to someplace I won't be able to find you; as if none of this matters to you anymore." He couldn't look Shindo in the eye.

"What are you talking about?" Hikaru asked after a moment. Touya snapped his gaze back to the other pro, disbelief and anger fading when he saw the gentle expression on his rival's face. "I won't do that again, Touya. Not after…Not after all that's happened. I owe everything to Go, and I owe all of _that_ to you, Touya."

'_Wait, what is—' _Hikaru was smiling, but he looked almost sad.

Touya lifted his chin. He felt his features stiffen. He wasn't about to back down from the argument simply because Hikaru didn't want to fight.

"Something has changed with you, Shindo. I know that I promised to go to Innoshima with you next week, but if you don't tell me what has happened, I'll call it off." He kept his haughty mask in place as he watched his rival squirm. He watched as Hikaru seriously considered cancelling their plans, and he saw as his friend caved.

"Things have been a lot different since my grandfather died," he admitted, hands fidgeting as he spoke. "There have been a lot of things to come to terms with. Not being able to see him…well, it brought back a lot of stuff and now…" He trailed off as he met Touya's gaze with a willful stare. "I've been so preoccupied with things that've already happened—things I can't change—that I haven't really been thinking about where I'm going. Where…where _we're_ going. What you said really…it made me think about a lot of things."

Touya was taken aback. He rarely saw his rival make such a face, half abashed and half determined. The eye contact Shindo forced almost made him uncomfortable, but there was a comfortable resolve, a fiery determination that allowed him to relax and prompt, "And? Do you have an answer for me, Shindo?"

The bleach-banged boy smiled and stood as if to comfort his rival, but swayed dangerously as he tried to support his own weight and crashed back down to the sofa. His hand clutched at the fabric of his shirt and he seemed desperate for air. His face was red, his features clenched together in some mild degree of pain. Touya was quickly at his side, touching his forehead and cheek.

"You're on fire!" he accused, as if the fever was Hikaru's fault.

"Touya, help me get to bed. I have a…a match in the morning."

"You goddamn fool…"

"Hey, I resent that," Hikaru said. "Fools can't catch colds."

Touya wrapped his arm around Hikaru's waist, hoisting him from the couch. Together, the pair managed to get Hikaru into his bed and under the covers. Hikaru was sweating from the effort it took.

"I'll bring you over some dinner later," Touya said, bringing Hikaru a stack of kifu he had requested. "Get some rest and take some medicine. And I'm still mad at you! Don't think for a second that…" Touya trailed off as he realized that Shindo had already started to snore. "For the love of God…"

Touya sat on the edge of Hikaru's bed, feeling his forehead again. It was blazing hot. He pushed Hikaru's bangs out of his face and wondered if he should get a compress for him.

'_There probably aren't any in the house,'_ he reasoned, running the back of his hand over both of his rival's cheeks. _'This damn idiot has no idea how to take care of himself.'_

He sighed and stood, making a mental list of all the things he would need to bring along with the dinner he had promised his friend.

* * *

><p>"<em>Shut up, Touya," Hikaru grumbled. He would have been angrier if his bed wasn't so comfortable. His bed…<em>

"_Hmm?" the sound of his voice was coming from everywhere. "A…dream?"_

"_Yes."_

_Hikaru sat up to see Setsuko sitting in an old-fashioned tatami room, brushing out her long black hair. The room was unfamiliar to him, but he could feel that Setsuko was very comfortable in it._

"_My private suite," she explained, indicating the somehow vast chambers that—by dream logic—fit within his bedroom. The paper walls were all decorated with red maple leaf panels. Lanterns with the same motif were scattered across the chambers, all visible as the doors slid open by themselves. He was no longer lying down but sitting beside Setsuko, combing a small section of her hair. "I've been remembering many things."_

_Her face was clean, something Hikaru rarely saw. Her eyes seemed lighter in comparison. Freer._

"_Sorry for having run your body down," she apologized. Her voice was lighter as well. A sincerity he wasn't accustomed to made him smile._

"_I haven't been paying enough attention to it anyway. It's as much my fault as it is yours," he soothed. The rhythmic nature of combing his companion's hair helped him to relax. "And there will be plenty of time to rest before the match tomorrow. And after that…"_

"…_we go to Ise," Setsuko finished. Hikaru watched her face in the mirror as he continued to comb her hair. The motion reminded him somewhat of placing stones on a goban. The small tangles he worked out of her hair were clusters of stones captured. Each strand of untangled hair was another bit of territory secured._

_Setsuko giggled at his train of thought, rising and moving away from his hands. She flitted around a corner and disappeared. Hikaru followed her to find a different room entirely, empty but for a single goban and a cushion on either side._

"_Play," the spirit bade him. She was somewhere just outside of his line of sight. "Play now, Hikaru. You need to focus for your match in the morning."_

_Hikaru grudgingly took a seat and stared stupidly at the cushion across the board._

"_Setsuko, who…" He couldn't find her. All of the doors that had been open were shut. Hikaru was completely isolated within the dream. He tried probing his mind, but he was too far in his own head to locate his friend. "Setsuko!"_

"_I guess she's letting me focus…" he muttered, returning his attention to the goban. Only one goke sat atop the board. Black._

_He set the goke to the side of the board, taking a single stone in his fingers. He only hesitated for a moment._

_Star point. Top left. The resulting =pachi= echoed throughout the chamber. He stared at the stone, waiting for a reply. After minutes of nothing, he closed his eyes and sighed, slouching out of his focus._

_**=chk=**_

_Hikaru snapped his eyes open to see a white stone had responded. Two below the star point, top right._

_Four to the right of the bottom left star point._

_His hand followed his command separately from his mind. He closed his eyes, waiting for—_

_**=chk=**_

_Mid-right point._

'_Too familiar to be coincidence. But just to be sure…'_

_Challenge at the top right. The instant he looked away from the board, before he could even close his eyes:_

_**=chk=**_

_Shuusaku's joseki. It was his calling card. It was…_

* * *

><p>"<em>Sai!" <em>The boy called, eyes flying open. He sat up slowly, not recalling having lay down. It took Hikaru almost a minute to realize he was not still sitting before the goban in that foreboding chamber. His hands gripped his bedsheets as he realized what must have happened.

What Setsuko had done.

Tears rolled out of his eyes; tears he only half understood.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Quickly, dear readers. To Ise!<strong>_


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